Simple Joint Freeing Series | 28-Minute Yoga Practice

Discover the therapeutic power of the Joint-Freeing Series (Pawanmuktasana) in this 28-minute class. We'll explore gentle movements designed to release tension, improve circulation, and enhance mobility in every major joint. This practice is perfect for all levels, particularly those looking to support joint health, reduce stiffness, or ease into yoga after an injury. You’ll leave with a sense of lightness and an increased range of motion, feeling deeply relaxed and refreshed.

This is a replay recording of the live class held on November 5th, 2024.

Recommended props: 2 blocks, a blanket, a strap. Use what you have already.

Transcript

Hello,

Hello,

Hello,

Hello,

Welcome my friends.

This is Joint Freeing Series,

And I am Vivian Wolfe.

We're going to do 30 minutes of very soft,

Nourishing movement that's going to help improve our mobility,

Create some space in the body,

And just give us a little ease.

For this particular sequence,

I like to have a blanket and two blocks,

But you can use whatever you want,

Whatever you already have handy,

Just to get it all ready for you,

So that you don't have to stop your practice and run and get it now.

And so,

We're going to lay down,

If that's comfortable for you,

With the legs stretched out.

You can also do most of this practice modified in a chair,

If that's more comfortable for you.

But come into a place where you can relax for a moment.

Close your eyes,

Take a deep breath in through the nose,

And then exhale through the mouth.

Give yourself permission to be right here,

Right now,

Nowhere else.

Let the body be right here in this space.

Let the breath be in the body,

Expanding and releasing.

And let your mind stay with your breath,

Keeping that inhale and exhale even and full.

When you notice that your mind has wandered away,

Remember,

First and foremost,

That is a human thing.

That's just you being a human being.

Then secondly,

Just come back to the breath.

Come back to this present moment.

Come back onto your mat.

You may have heard,

If you've been with me for a while,

You may have heard me say the whole idea of staying on your mat.

It's not just about watching other people or mimicking other people.

It's also about keeping your mind on the here and now.

So maybe you set the intention now to stay on your mat,

Or any other intention that serves you for this practice.

And then after you've repeated it a couple of times,

Let it go.

Now we're going to begin just with the toes,

Keeping the toes separate from the ankles.

As you inhale,

Just pull your toes back towards your face.

Maybe spread them wide,

And as you exhale,

Just curl the toes under.

The feet stay neutral.

Inhale and pull those toes back.

And exhale,

Curl the toes under.

We're just going to do two more.

Inhale,

And exhale.

Inhale,

And exhale.

Good.

Now we do the feet.

So inhale,

Pull the feet back.

Exhale,

Point through the whole feet.

The toes are extended.

Inhale,

We flex the feet back.

And exhale,

Extend the feet forward.

Two more.

Inhale,

And exhale.

Inhale,

Exhale.

Now from here,

Let's make three circles going clockwise.

Inhaling and exhaling one round.

That's one.

Let's do two.

Let's do one more.

Now we're going to take it the other way,

Counterclockwise.

Rotating once per breath.

And again.

Last one.

And then just let that go.

Let the body rest here just for a moment.

Plant the feet,

Bend your knees.

Maybe lift the pelvis and set it back down if that feels good.

Just so that your low back feels a little more comfortable here.

And then let's pull that right knee in,

Interlace the fingers behind the thigh.

And then soften that knee,

Let the heel drop down.

We're just going to flex and extend in the knee.

So with your next inhale,

Just lift your foot up.

And exhale,

Bring that heel down.

And keep the upper leg still.

Inhale up.

And exhale down.

We're just going to do two more.

Take your time.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Last one.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Good.

Put that foot down.

And then let's bring that left knee in towards the chest.

Interlace the finger behind the left thigh.

Interlace the finger on top.

And we'll do this all again.

Here we go.

Inhale,

Extend that heel up.

Exhale,

Bring it down.

Inhale up.

Take your time in these transitions.

Exhale down.

The places in between.

Inhale.

Where your breath fills the space.

Exhale.

One more.

Inhale.

Pause here just for a moment.

Observing the sensations in your body.

And then slide those feet out.

Maybe take them a little wider.

Flex the toes back.

We're going to do internal and external rotation in the hips.

So I like to kind of like root down in my heels and lift my knees just like an inch.

So I can really feel the rotation all the way up into my hips.

Arms go where they feel good.

Inhale,

Rotate out.

Exhale,

Rotate in.

Inhale,

Rotate out.

And exhale,

Rotate in.

Two more.

Inhale.

And exhale.

One more.

Inhale.

And exhale.

Good.

Now let that go.

Pause here.

Take a different position.

A different stage.

But I want you to notice here how this feels compared to when you first came into this practice.

What did the sensations feel like?

Are you warmer?

Are you cooler?

What about your toes?

Your feet?

Your calves?

Your thighs?

Maybe you start to feel some release.

Maybe there's some tingling or vibration.

And when you're ready,

Roll on over to one side or the other.

Come into a little fetal position.

And then use your hands to help press you up.

We're going to make our way into a table pose.

So we're going to be in table for just a little bit.

So feel free to put a blanket underneath your knees.

And I'm going to put blocks underneath my hands because sometimes my wrists are a little tender.

And that's okay.

All right.

All right.

All right.

And we're going to bring our right foot forward.

So we can do lunge.

Lunge in half split.

So when we do this again,

Remember knee over ankle or even a little bit behind it.

So that as you shift your weight back into half split,

Your hips are over that left knee.

Coming all the way back here,

You're getting into a different set of muscles and different set of joints.

That's not what we're working on right here.

So we want to stay here.

But if you're not getting enough sensation,

Take that right foot further forward.

All right.

All right.

Here we go.

Inhale.

Shift it forward into low lunge.

Exhale.

Take it back to half split.

Keep the knee a little soft.

Foot is flexed.

Take it back.

We're just going to do two more here.

Take your time.

Inhale.

And exhale.

Inhale.

And exhale.

Good,

Good,

Good.

Inhale.

Shift it forward.

And then press into the hands.

Use your core.

Lift the hips and pull that right leg back.

Squeeze those hips together.

Take your hands wider.

Off of the mat is fine.

And we're just going to shift.

We want to make sure our shoulders are still laterally in line with our wrists.

And our hips and our knees are on top of each other.

You know what I'm talking about.

Take a deep breath in.

Exhale.

Just shift those hips over to the right as far as they'll go.

Inhale.

Back up.

And exhale to the left.

Good.

I'm going to turn to the side so you can see from this way.

Inhale at the top.

Exhale over to the right.

Inhale top.

Exhale to the left.

We're just going to do one more on each side.

Inhale.

And exhale.

Inhale.

And exhale.

Really good.

Now let's do our left foot.

So take our left foot forward.

Take it as far forward as you like.

Again,

We want to make sure that we're keeping that knee safe.

So it's on top of the ankle or behind it.

And then check it out in the back.

Make sure that your half split is where you want it.

And then when you're ready,

Let's move.

Inhale.

Shift the weight forward.

Low lunge.

Exhale.

Take it back.

Half split.

Inhale forward.

Exhale back.

We're going to do two more rounds.

Feel your full breath.

Big,

Big breath in.

Big,

Full breath out.

Squeeze the air out.

One more.

Inhale.

And exhale.

Beautiful.

Inhale,

Shift it forward.

Pull that leg back.

Set that knee down.

Maybe a little shift side to side if that feels good.

Maybe a little cat-cow if that feels good.

Just loosening things up a little bit.

And then we're going to move into a seated position.

If you want to move to a chair,

You're welcome to do that.

We are done working on our hips and lower.

So we're going to focus on the spine.

So if seated on the floor is uncomfortable for you,

You don't have to do it.

You just sit wherever it feels good for you,

My friends.

If you are sitting on the floor,

You want to sit up on a blanket or a bolster,

That's great too.

Legs go wherever legs feel good.

Take a moment here.

Just check back in.

Observing the sensations that are present here in this seated position.

And then take the hands out to the side,

Palms down.

We're just going to do side bends.

I'm going to take this shirt off first.

Side bends.

So we're only going to work in think about working in the spine.

Take a deep breath in right here in center.

As you exhale,

You're going to tip over to the right side.

Maybe your right hand slides out,

Like I'm a little teapot.

You can even put your hand on the waist if that feels good.

Inhale,

Back up.

Exhale,

Over to the left.

Inhale up.

Exhale to the right.

Inhale up.

Exhale to the left.

One more time.

Inhale up.

Exhale to the right.

Inhale up.

And exhale to the left.

Good,

Good.

Now we're going to do the same thing except with twists.

So inhale,

Come up.

Bring your palms together over your heart.

Take a deep breath in right here.

Exhale,

Turn your heart towards the right.

Maybe you turn your gaze over the right shoulder.

Inhale,

Come right back to center.

Exhale,

Over to the left.

Inhale,

Center.

Exhale,

Look to the right.

Inhale,

Center.

Exhale to the left.

Inhale,

Center.

One more time.

Exhale to the right.

Inhale to center.

Exhale to the left.

Inhale,

Center.

Good.

Now bring your hands to your knees.

We're going to do a little seated cat-cow.

So as you inhale,

Lift the heart.

Lift the gaze.

Lift the chin.

Open up the front of the body.

Exhale,

Round the back.

Pull the belly button to the spine.

Bring your chin towards your chest.

Inhale and lift,

Lift,

Lift.

One more time.

Exhale,

Rounding the back.

Two more rounds.

Inhale.

And exhale.

Inhale.

And exhale.

Good,

Good.

Come back to a neutral place and pause here.

Just observing the things that are changing.

After that,

Judith Lassiter says the transformation of yoga happens in millimeters.

So notice the tiny changes in temperature,

Tension,

Pressure,

Tingling,

Vibration.

Notice where you feel your breath and notice the rhythm of your breath.

Good.

Let's begin to work on our shoulders.

So take the arms back down to the sides.

Palms down.

And with your inhale,

Take the arms up and bring the palms together over the heart.

I mean,

Sorry,

Over the head.

Exhale,

Palms come down to touch the floor or just hang at the sides.

Inhale up.

Exhale down.

We're going to do two more like that.

Inhale up.

Exhale down.

Last one.

Inhale up.

Exhale down.

Good,

Good,

Good.

Now make cactus arms.

Elbows are out 90 degrees from the shoulders and the wrists are 90 degrees above.

Palms facing forward.

As you inhale,

Pull your shoulder blades a little closer together.

As you exhale,

Bring the hands together in front of you.

Elbows touch.

Inhale,

Open wide,

Cactus arms.

Exhale,

Elbows and palms touch.

One more.

Inhale,

Open.

Exhale,

Close.

One more.

Inhale,

Open.

And exhale,

Close.

Good.

From here,

We're going to take those arms out wide,

Palms up.

Take a deep breath in.

As you exhale,

Just the elbows bend.

Touch your shoulders with your fingers.

Inhale,

Reach those hands out.

Exhale,

Touch the shoulders.

Inhale,

And exhale.

One more.

Inhale,

And exhale.

Good,

Good,

Good.

Bring the hands down.

If you need a little shoulder roll,

You can do that.

We're going to move into the wrists now,

So you can keep the elbows by the waist,

Or you can reach your hands out.

Whatever feels better for you.

Palms point down,

Fingers pointed forward.

And with your next inhale,

Just turn the fingers up,

The palms face forward.

As you exhale,

Turn it down so the palms face your abdomen.

Inhale,

Turn the fingers up.

Exhale,

Fingers down.

Two more like that.

Inhale,

And exhale.

Inhale,

And exhale.

Good,

Good,

Good.

Now,

We're going to make circles.

So we're going to take one circle per breath.

We're going to go clockwise first.

So here we go.

One,

Two,

Two,

Three.

Now,

Let's go the other way.

One,

Two,

Three.

Good,

Good,

Good.

Shake it out.

Now,

We're going to work in the hands and in the fingers.

So,

Spread those fingers wide.

Feel it through the whole palm like you're trying to pull the fingers back together behind your hand.

Exhale,

Make a fist.

Now,

If you have long fingers,

Use a tennis ball here if that feels better.

Inhale,

Stretch those fingers out.

And exhale,

Make a fist.

Two more.

Inhale,

Exhale.

One more.

Inhale,

And exhale.

Now,

We're going to do the same thing,

But just with our fingers.

Inhale,

Stretch the fingers wide.

And as you exhale,

Flex the fingers.

Try to touch the base of your fingers.

So,

Tiger paws.

Inhale,

Extend.

And exhale,

Curl.

Two more.

Inhale,

And exhale.

Inhale,

And exhale.

Good.

Shake it out.

Shake it out.

Shake it out.

Shake it out.

Let those hands rest on the lap.

Palms up.

And just pause here.

Maybe you close your eyes.

What do you feel right now in the palm of your hands?

What about in the fingers?

What about in the wrists?

In the shoulders?

Where do you feel your breath right now?

Good,

Good,

Good.

Alright,

Moving into the neck now.

We start with little bends.

So,

Just take a deep breath in right here.

Exhale,

Tip your right ear to your right shoulder.

Inhale,

Lift back up.

And exhale,

Left ear,

Left shoulder.

Inhale,

Come back up.

Exhale,

To the right.

Inhale,

Up.

Exhale,

Left.

One more on each side.

Inhale,

Up.

Exhale,

Right.

Inhale,

Up.

Exhale,

Left.

Now we're going to do little neck turns.

So,

Inhale to center.

Exhale,

Look over your right shoulder.

Inhale,

Center.

Exhale,

Look left.

Inhale,

Center.

Exhale,

Right.

Inhale,

Center.

Exhale,

Left.

One more time.

Inhale,

Center.

Exhale,

Right.

Inhale,

Center.

Exhale,

Left.

Good.

Inhale,

Come to center.

Exhale,

Chin down.

Chin to chest,

But the spine stays straight.

Inhale,

Lift your chin as high as you can.

Exhale,

Dip that chin down.

Inhale,

Lift up.

Two more.

Exhale,

Down.

Inhale,

Up.

Exhale,

Down.

Inhale,

Up.

Good.

Release that.

Take your two finger,

Your first finger,

Your second finger,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

And bring those fingers right to the space behind where your jaw meets your skull.

So it's like right between your ear and your jaw.

Fingers point forward,

So you've got a little divot there.

You can even take the elbows out if that feels good.

We want to create just a little bit of pressure there.

Take a deep breath in through the nose.

Exhale through the mouth,

Tongue out as wide as you can.

Let's do that again.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Two more.

Exhale.

Last one.

Make it nasty.

Good.

Release everything.

Come back to a seated position.

Take a breath here.

Observe whatever is present in this moment.

In the body,

In the breath.

And slowly,

Slowly make your way down all the way to a Shavasana.

So maybe you pass back through fetal position.

What does fetal position feel like now?

Maybe you pass through constructive rest with your knees bent and your feet planted.

What does that feel like compared to before?

Maybe you stretch the legs out.

Maybe you find a different way to relax.

Totally great.

But make your way there now.

Soften the gaze or close the eyes.

Take a nice long,

Deep breath in through the nose and exhale through the mouth.

Let go.

Once again,

Allowing the body to sink down.

Feel the surface below you,

The ground,

The earth,

Rising up to hold and support you.

As you exhale,

Feel the force of gravity pressing the body into that support and give yourself permission to release into that force.

Each breath in is an invitation from the earth to be held and each exhale is the release into that support.

Give your mind permission to be quiet.

Any thoughts that arise,

Just let them come and then go.

Passing,

Arising and passing over and over again.

I'll guide you back in just a moment so enjoy the rest of this Shavasana.

You can stay in your Shavasana for as long as you like.

When you're ready to come back,

Start to bring your awareness into your breath.

Take a deep breath in through the nose and exhale through the mouth.

Repeat that if it feels good.

Start to welcome your body back.

Start with soft movements in your fingers and your toes and then allow that movement to grow into your wrists and your ankles,

Arms and legs,

Shoulders and hips.

Enjoy whatever movement feels good to you right now and then slowly make your way over to fetal position.

Maybe you try the other side this time if you haven't already and just pause here.

Again,

Just let the body release down.

Knowing you can come back here anytime to feel that support below you,

That sense of releasing down,

Accepting that support.

When you're ready,

Use your hands to help lift you up.

Come into a seated position,

Any seated position that's comfortable for you.

Maybe you try opposite foot in front or on top or something altogether different.

Hands resting on the legs or on the knees.

Soften your gaze or close your eyes.

Take just one more moment here.

Check it in.

Notice what's present right now in your body,

In your breath.

Notice how you feel.

Beautiful,

Beautiful,

Beautiful.

Let's go ahead and close this class now.

Inhale,

Take your hands up.

Reach high to the sky.

As you exhale,

Bring your palms together over your heart.

With our hands here,

Anjali Mudra.

Let's take a deep breath in together.

Exhale,

Let it go.

Exhale,

Let it go.

Perfect.

Thank you so much for sharing this practice with me today.

From my heart to yours,

Peace.

Reviews

Hello beautiful 🎀🍒🎈🌷🌸Thank you so much for the wonderful session 🍡it gives me sweet feelings and so much softness 🪻much love 🕉️

Excellent after any situation where you may be stiff from being still too long. Viviane goes from the bottom all the way to the top stretching and flexing different joints. It was very easy to follow along.