2 - Yoga 60 min

This yoga session puts into practice the principles of doing yoga as mindfulness practice, not just exercise. The guidance incorporates the attitudes of trusting your own experience, non-judging, and non-striving. And of course, always practice with beginner’s mind. The poses are appropriate for all levels of experience, including beginners.

Transcript

Beginning by standing with the feet at shoulder width.

In standing poses,

Always keeping the knees soft.

If the knees are locked for too long,

You may pass out.

So always in standing poses,

Keeping the knees soft.

And now bringing the hips right over the ankles.

And maybe lengthening the spine just a bit to bring the shoulders over the hips.

And then tucking in the chin a bit to bring the ears right over the shoulders.

This is mountain pose.

This may be close to the way you normally stand or it may be a little different.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in mountain pose.

And now with a deep in-breath,

Reaching both hands up toward the ceiling.

And with a long,

Slow out-breath,

Bringing the hands back down to the sides.

And again,

A deep in-breath,

Reaching up toward the ceiling.

And a full out-breath,

Bringing the hands back down.

One more time,

Big breath in,

Reaching up toward the ceiling.

And a long,

Slow out-breath,

Bringing the hands back down to the sides.

And now reaching both hands up toward the ceiling and keeping the feet flat on the floor,

Reaching as high as you can with the right hand.

Feeling the stretch all the way along the right side.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in this position.

And now relaxing back to the center.

And then reaching with the left hand and feeling the stretch all the way along the left side of the body.

And now relaxing back to the center and bringing the arms back down and returning to mountain pose.

And next,

Reaching up with the right hand and then dropping the right hand behind the head.

And if you are flexible enough,

Reaching around the back with the left hand to pull down on the right hand.

Otherwise,

Bringing the left hand up to the right elbow and gently drawing the elbow in and back.

Noticing the sensations of the stretch.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in this position.

Noticing any reactions in the mind to the sensations of the stretch.

And now releasing the right elbow and returning to mountain pose.

And noticing the sensations that remain from doing that stretch.

And now reaching up with the left hand and then dropping the left hand behind the head.

And either reaching the left hand behind the back with the right hand or bringing the right hand to the left elbow and gently drawing the elbow in and back.

Paying careful attention to the sensations of the stretch just as they are.

And now releasing the left elbow and bringing the arms back down,

Returning to mountain pose.

And next,

Raising both shoulders up toward the ears and then bringing them forward and then all the way down and then all the way back and back up.

Rolling the shoulders around as far as they will go,

Keeping the arms soft.

And now coming to a stop and reversing the direction,

Raising the shoulders up high and then squeezing them back and then all the way down and then in front again.

And now coming to a stop and returning to mountain pose and noticing the sensations that remain from doing that pose.

Next,

Bringing the right hand to the left shoulder and then bringing the left hand or left wrist to the right elbow and keeping the feet flat,

Twisting everything around to the left all the way from the ankles to the head.

If the eyes are open,

Including the eyes in the stretch,

Looking to the left.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in a twist.

On the next out breath,

Checking to see if there's any more give,

If anything will still move a little bit or whether you have already reached your limit.

And now relaxing back to the center,

Returning to mountain pose and noticing the sensations that remain after doing that stretch.

And now bringing the left hand to the right shoulder and the right hand or wrist to the left elbow and keeping the feet flat,

Twisting everything around to the right.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in this position.

On the out breath,

Checking to see if there's any more give.

And now relaxing back to the center,

Returning to mountain pose and noticing the sensations that remain from that stretch.

And next,

Lowering the chin toward the chest and then curling forward,

Letting the hands drop toward the floor,

Keeping the legs straight.

And taking your time to settle into this stretch,

Noticing where the sensations of the stretch are most noticeable.

Noticing how it feels to breathe when you're folded in half.

On the out breath,

Checking to see if anything is still moving.

Not pushing,

Just asking whether there's any more give.

If you feel that the body is resisting the stretch,

Perhaps coming up an inch or two and then relaxing back down.

And now slowly coming back up,

Starting at the hips as if you are stacking the vertebrae one at a time.

And finally,

Returning to mountain pose.

And now widening your stance to about twice shoulder width.

And extending the arms straight out to the sides.

And now dropping the right hand down toward the right knee,

Tipping sideways to bring the left hand up toward the ceiling and keeping the whole body in the same plane.

Not bending forward,

Just bending to the right side.

Noticing what is being stretched.

Noticing which muscles are doing some work.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in this position.

Noticing whether the right hand has already stopped or if it's still moving a little bit.

And now straightening back up,

Keeping the arms extended out to the sides.

And now tipping to the left,

Bringing the left hand down toward the left knee or leg and the right hand up toward the ceiling.

Settling into the stretch.

Relaxing everything that can be relaxed.

Checking to see that the face is soft.

Noticing how the breath feels in this position.

And on the out breath,

Checking to see if there's any more give.

And now straightening back up and relaxing the arms back down to the sides.

And now with a very wide stance.

Turning the right foot out 90 degrees and the left foot in about 30 degrees.

Extending the arms straight out to the sides.

And then turning the head to look over the right hand.

And bending the right knee and bringing it only as far as over the ankle.

To extend the stretch,

Moving the left foot back.

Noticing which muscles are doing the work and how that feels.

Noticing which muscles are stretched and how that feels.

Noticing what happens to the breath as the muscles begin to do some work.

And when the body says that's enough,

Then that's enough.

But make sure it's the body saying that's enough and not just the mind.

And now slowly coming back up,

Relaxing the arms down and turning the feet forward.

And noticing the sensations that remain after doing that pose.

And now turning the left foot out 90 degrees and the right foot in about 30 degrees.

Extending the arms straight out to the sides.

And turning the head to look over the left hand.

And now bending the left knee and again bringing it only as far as over the ankle.

To extend the stretch,

Moving the right foot back.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in this position.

Noticing where the mind goes.

And when the body says that's enough,

Then that's enough.

And now slowly coming back up,

Relaxing the arms down and moving the feet forward again.

And noticing the sensations that remain after doing that pose.

And now with some attention to how this happens,

With some attention to how the body wants to move.

Making your way down to hands and knees.

And beginning with the hands right under the shoulders and the knees almost that wide.

And we'll call this table pose.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in this relaxed posture.

And now with a deep in-breath,

Arching the head up and dropping the belly down to extend the entire spine.

And with a full out-breath,

Dropping the head down and pulling the belly up high to flex the entire spine.

Again,

Full in-breath,

Arching the head up and dropping the belly down.

And a full out-breath,

Dropping the head down and pulling the belly up high.

And at your own pace,

With each breath,

Moving as much air as you can and fully extending and flexing the spine.

Finding a pace that allows you to really take a deep breath without hyperventilating.

Noticing the difference between eyes open and eyes closed.

With the eyes open,

Including the eyes,

Looking up on the in-breath and down on the out-breath.

And now returning to table pose and letting the breath come and go on its own again.

And now moving the hands forward about a hand's length.

And dropping the hips down toward the ankles and letting the head drop down toward the mat.

And if necessary,

Adjusting the hands to straighten out the shoulders.

And then relaxing as much as possible.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in this position.

And now coming up and continuing forward,

Keeping the arms straight,

Letting the hips drop toward the mat and arching the head up.

Noticing the difference between eyes open and eyes closed.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in this position.

And now coming back to table pose.

With the next in-breath,

Extending the right arm straight in front of you and the left leg straight back,

If possible,

Bringing them parallel to the floor.

Noticing which muscles are working,

Which muscles are stretched.

You may find that you can do this pose with the eyes closed,

Or you may find that it's helpful to keep the eyes open to stay balanced.

Noticing what happens to the breath as the muscles begin to tire.

And when the body says that's enough,

Then that's enough.

And now relaxing back down to table pose,

Noticing what happens to the breath as the body relaxes,

Perhaps what happens to the mind.

Noticing where the attention is.

Is it right here or is it already in the future?

And now extending the left arm in front and the right leg straight back until they are parallel to the floor.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in this position.

When the body says that's enough,

Then that's enough.

And now relaxing back down to table pose and noticing what happens to the breath.

And now with awareness of how this happens,

Making your way around to sitting with the legs extended.

And now drawing both feet in,

Soles together,

Knees pointed out to the sides.

And holding on to the feet with both hands.

Letting the knees drop.

And pulling yourself forward from the hips,

Stretching at the hips,

Not the spine.

And finding out how far the knees will go toward the floor.

Noticing what is being stretched in the hips and noticing also what is opposite that,

That is fully relaxed.

Noticing how the breath feels in this position.

And now relaxing back up and extending the legs back out again and noticing the sensations that remain from that stretch.

And now bringing the left foot across the right knee,

Putting it down outside the right knee.

Bringing the left hand straight behind you.

And then bringing the right elbow outside the left knee and using that to apply a little leverage and twist around to the left.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in a twist.

On the out breath,

Checking to see if there's any more give or if you have already found your limit.

And now untwisting and coming back to sitting with the legs extended and noticing the sensations that remain from that stretch.

And now bringing the right foot across to be outside the left knee.

The right hand straight behind you.

And the left arm,

The left elbow outside the right knee and twisting around to the right.

On the out breath,

Checking to see if there's any more give.

And now untwisting and returning to sitting with the legs extended and noticing the sensations that remain from that stretch.

And now lying flat on your back,

Arms at the sides,

Palms up,

Letting the legs relax and the feet fall away from each other.

This fully relaxed position is corpse pose.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in this position.

And now bending the right hip and knee and holding on to the right knee with both hands and gently drawing the knee up and out to stretch the hip.

Noticing how it feels to breathe.

Noticing the difference between eyes open and eyes closed.

Noticing what is being stretched and what is fully relaxed.

And now releasing the knee and extending the leg back out to return to corpse pose.

And noticing the sensations remaining from that stretch.

And now bending the left knee and hip and with both hands holding on to the left knee,

Drawing the knee up and out to stretch the left hip.

Noticing whether there's any more give or if you have already found your limit.

And now releasing the left knee and extending the leg back out to return to corpse pose.

And noticing the sensations remaining from that stretch.

And now drawing both knees up toward the chest and with both hands holding the knees,

Flexing the back.

You may also try rocking back and forth and side to side a little bit to give a massage to the lower back.

Noticing how it feels to breathe when you fold it up.

And now releasing the knees and extending the legs back out to return to corpse pose.

And now keeping the hips flat on the mat,

Lifting the right foot up toward the ceiling as high as it will go.

Noticing which muscles are working,

Which muscles are stretched.

Noticing what your limit is in this position.

And when the leg has gone as far as it will go by itself,

Reaching both hands up to the right knee or right leg and drawing it in some more.

Noticing the sensations of the stretch.

Noticing the breath in this position.

Noticing the difference between eyes open and eyes closed.

And now raising the head up toward the right knee to extend the stretch a bit more.

And now releasing the right leg and returning to corpse pose.

And now drawing both feet in toward the hips with the knees up toward the ceiling.

And keeping the hips flat on the mat,

Raising the left foot up toward the ceiling as high as it will go.

Noticing which muscles are working,

Which muscles are stretched.

And when you have found your limit in this position,

Bringing both hands up to the left knee or left leg and drawing the leg in a little more.

And now raising the head up toward the left knee and extending the stretch a bit more.

And now releasing the left leg and returning to corpse pose.

Once again,

Drawing the feet in toward the hips,

Knees up toward the ceiling.

And now raising the hips up off the mat until the lower back and the thighs are in a straight line.

Noticing how it feels to breathe when the belly is higher than the diaphragm.

Noticing which muscles are doing the work and relaxing everything else.

Noticing the difference between eyes open and eyes closed.

And now relaxing back down to the mat and extending the legs back out to return to corpse pose and noticing the sensations that remain after doing that pose.

And now again,

Drawing the feet in toward the hips,

Knees up toward the ceiling.

And extending the arms a little bit away from the sides.

Keeping the feet and the knees together.

Dropping the knees toward the left and turning the head to the right and reaching across with the left hand to hold the right shoulder to get a twist along the spine.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in this position.

Noticing how the twist feels when gravity is doing most of the work.

Noticing where the mind goes.

And now bringing the left arm back to the left side and the knees up toward the ceiling again.

And now keeping the feet and the knees together,

Dropping the knees to the right and reaching across with the right hand to the left shoulder and looking to the left.

Noticing everything that can be relaxed.

Noticing how the breath feels in a twist.

And now untwisting,

Bringing the arms back to the sides and extending the legs out to return to corpse pose.

And noticing the sensations that remain from that twist.

And next,

Turning on to the right side with the legs extended straight out and the right arm under the head to rest the head on and the left hand in front of the chest for balance.

And now raising the left foot up about a foot or a foot and a half.

Relaxing everything that can be relaxed.

Relaxing the entire right side of the body.

Noticing the left foot and ankle.

Using only the muscles that are necessary.

And as the sensations in those muscles begin to change,

Bringing full awareness to just what is there.

The mind may start getting busy.

Noticing that and coming back to the sensations in the muscles that are doing the work.

When the body says that's enough,

Then that's enough.

Make sure it's the body saying enough and not the mind.

And now relaxing the leg back down,

Noticing the sensations changing in those muscles.

Noticing perhaps the breath changing,

Perhaps the mind changing.

And now turning over to lie on the left side,

Legs extended straight out and the left arm under the head,

Right arm in front of the chest for balance.

And now raising the right foot up about a foot or a foot and a half.

Using only the muscles that are necessary.

Relaxing the entire left side of the body.

Noticing the right foot and ankle.

Relaxing the face.

And noticing what happens in the muscles that are doing the work.

Bringing some curiosity to what is happening in those muscles.

And when the body says that's enough,

Then that's enough.

And now relaxing the right leg back down,

Noticing the sensations that change,

Noticing perhaps the breath,

The mind,

Relaxing.

And now returning to corpse pose.

Beginning to see that there's no pulling on the feet or the hands or the head.

Making sure that everything is fully relaxed.

Relaxing the arms and the legs.

Relaxing the core.

Relaxing the face.

Letting the whole body sink into the mat.

Noticing all of the sensations that remain in the body after stretching.

Noticing how it feels to breathe in this position.

Paying full attention to the sensations of the breath coming and going on its own.

And now expanding the awareness to include the sensations of the whole body breathing.

Noticing the sensations of pressure where the body is in contact with the mat.

Sensations of clothing on the skin.

And the sensations of the breath.

Feeling the movement of the breath in the belly.

And now noticing what happens in the mind as you begin to consider the possibility of beginning to move.

Beginning by opening the eyes and noticing how it feels to be alert and fully relaxed.

And now beginning with just a little movement.

Moving the fingers and toes.

Noticing how it feels to begin to move again.

Moving the hands and the feet.

Bringing some movement back to the arms and the legs.

Noticing what happens in the body and the mind as you begin to move.

And when you're ready,

Making your way up to a sitting position.

And noticing what you have done.

Noticing how the body feels.

Noticing how the mind feels.

And when you are ready,

Continuing with whatever it is you were doing before the yoga.