Yin Yoga Release Live Class: Unshakable Trust

Vajrapradama mudra is a yoga hand gesture believed to build trust and self-confidence. It is one of many hasta (hand) mudras designed to have a positive effect on physical and mental/emotional health. To perform this mudra, the fingers are crossed, or woven together, and placed in front of the chest over the heart center with the thumbs spread apart and pointing toward the collar bones. Class is recorded and demonstrated live, the audio will reflect that.

Transcript

Hi,

Welcome to this Yin Release practice.

Before we begin,

Grab your support that you need,

Any props.

I'd suggest a bolster,

Blanket,

Pillows,

Anything to bring the surface up to support you.

Once you've gathered your props,

You'll locate your bolster or your blanket or pillow.

You're going to lay it long ways on your mat.

Find supta baddha konasana through the lower body.

The soles of the feet come to touch and the knees open wide.

You'll lay the length of the spine onto the bolster or blanket.

This support will lift your heart up,

Creating an extension through your spine.

Once you've made your way into your shape,

Settle into that shape with the breath.

Observation is a practice of observation and discernment.

It's the practice of our moment to moment experience.

Finding the various layers of that experience.

We hold the postures for an extended period of time.

This gives a chance for the soft tissues to contract.

For the mind to slow down.

When we slow down and practice being in a relatively still posture.

It provides the opportunity to observe,

To discern what's arising.

So what does this moment hold for you?

We'll come into bhaji pranahama mudra,

The seal of unshakable trust.

The body will stay in supine position.

The soles of the feet will remain connected.

You'll take the hands,

Spread the fingers and the thumbs apart from one another.

And then bring each finger to interlace.

The fingers are straight.

The palms are facing towards your chest or your solar plexus,

Your inner weaving your straight fingers.

And you'll rest this mudra right on top of your heart center.

Begin to breathe life into the mudra.

This gesture represents unshakable trust.

This mudra helps to combat any negativity,

Any doubt or fear,

Which often arises on the path of self exploration.

We're here for about 10 cycles of breath.

Mindfully breaking the seal of the mudra and the hands,

As well as the feet as you bring the legs nice and long.

Come onto the forearms and slowly bring the spine up,

Arriving in a seated position.

Fire log pose.

The left leg on bottom,

The right leg on top.

You'll bring the shins to stack one on top of the other.

If you notice the knees are far away from the earth,

Bring a block underneath your foot in between your foot and your knee.

You can also cross the ankles right in front of the body.

Hinge yourself forward.

Release the chin to the chest and attune to the breath.

We'll come back into the seal of trust mudra,

Straight fingers in a weave between each other.

Thumbs extend out.

Just observe what arises.

If doubt or negativity arise,

Question that doubt.

If doubt or negativity arise,

Question that doubt.

We're working deeply into the outer hips as well as the low back.

You may experience sensation through the whole of the body or one focused area.

You may experience sensation through the whole of the body or one focused area.

You may notice the mind going in a million different directions.

Without judgment,

Just observe what the shape of the body is stirring up.

What is it invoking on your various layers of being?

The seal of trust gives us the confidence to be with whatever is present.

Ten cycles of breath.

Bringing the seal of the mudra,

Bringing the spine and the shoulders back up over the hips.

Taking the leg that is on top,

Bringing it behind you for half hero's pose.

The right heel will come towards your sit bone.

You'll stay lifted up through your torso or begin to make your way back onto your bolster in that supportive heart opening.

The left leg can remain where it is.

It can straighten out or you can bring the sole of the foot onto the earth.

You want to feel the degree of intensity on a scale of one to ten between a five and a six.

Make the adjustments.

Observe what's surfacing breath by breath.

There may be a strong pull in the thigh,

Aches around the knees or the hips.

A strong emotion or feeling that's flooding the thoughts.

Listen to your breath.

About ten cycles.

You'll slowly exit out of your half hero's pose.

Bring the right leg out straight.

Bring the block or bolster to the in or the outside of the right leg.

The pelvis is grounded.

The left arm will reach up and then over to the right hand side for a lateral side bend.

Moving length in the rib cage to the hip.

Breathing back into the breath.

Sutter your breath to the shape of your body.

Breathing in and out.

That nice,

Smooth,

Consistent breath.

Observing the unfoldment of our moment to moment experience.

Ten cycles.

Bringing the top hand down.

Breathing back up to a seated position.

Moving into fire log on the opposite side.

Right shin.

Left shin stacks on top or criss-cross in front of the seat.

Prop up as needed.

And then make your way into your fire log.

Each side body has a different story to tell.

Observe what this side story is.

Moving back into the seal of trust.

Inner weaving your straight fingers,

Extending out through the thumb.

Listen to your breath.

Be aware of your thought loops.

Notice your sensations.

Observe the union you're creating with yourself.

Ten cycles of breath.

Breathing in and out.

Breathing in and out.

Break the seal of the mudra.

Rise up through the upper body.

Tap hero's pose.

Bend the left knee.

Bring the left heel towards your seat.

If your bolster,

Blanket or prop is underneath you,

Come to the open heart extension of the spine.

If that's too much,

Remain up on your forearms or with the shoulders over the hips.

Right leg can extend out straight or the sole of the foot can come to the earth.

We're spreading the tissues along the left leg,

Thigh,

Laterally and horizontally.

Bajra pranayama mudra.

Interlace the fingers,

The palms of the hands.

Rest anywhere along the spinal column.

Hear the breath.

Listen to the breath.

Bajra pranayama mudra.

Observe your moment to moment experience as it unfolds.

The various aspects of your being.

You remove the fingers.

Make your way out.

Extend that left leg long.

Ground down through your seat.

Reach the right arm long,

Up and over towards the left hand side for a side bend.

Find a position that works with your neck.

Maybe the ear falls towards the shoulder or the chin drops down.

Hear the breath.

Notice the texture of your energy,

Your life flow.

Bajra pranayama mudra.

Bajra pranayama mudra.

Extend the cycles of breath.

Making your way out.

You'll turn yourself around.

Come onto your belly.

You can bring a bolster or a blanket to rest underneath the belly.

Seal or sphinx.

Sphinx,

The forearms rest on the mat.

Seal the arms are straight.

The support of the bolster or blanket or pillow underneath the soft flesh of the belly helps to alleviate any unnecessary strain in the arms.

Notice the energetics of the lower body.

There's more awareness.

More feeling.

Listen to your breath.

If you'd like to lift the chin up towards the ceiling or the sky,

Opening up the throat.

Otherwise the head can stay relatively neutral or the chin can come down to the chest.

Ten breaths.

If the chin is tilted up,

Bring it back to neutral.

You'll come into an extended child's pose,

Bringing the hips down towards the heels.

If your bolster's there,

The arms can come onto the bolster or the elbows rest on the bolster.

If you don't have a bolster,

The arms can straighten forward or come down by your hips.

Realizing that the experience is unfolding exactly as it's supposed to.

Likewise the hips can come into the Resources Removing your props coming down onto the belly.

Bringing the right arm out,

Shoulder width height if you'd like to bring it closer towards your ear or down towards the hips.

You're going to roll onto your right side body.

We're opening up the right upper part of the chest,

Compressing a bit through the back of the scapula,

The shoulder blade.

Settle the body with the breath.

These extended holds are doing wonderful work to our connective tissues.

When we move in slowly,

Take our time in an area.

We can really feel the places that we're stuck,

Where we get caught up.

About 10 breaths.

Roll back onto your belly.

Extend the left arm long.

Wither up by the ear,

Closer to the hip,

Out straight from the shoulder.

You can bring the right leg behind you as a kickstand.

Observe the feedback of the left side.

Make your adjustments accordingly and settle back into the shape with the breath.

We About ten cycles.

Roll back onto your belly.

Bring the forehead down.

You'll take your hands underneath your hips.

The pinkies will come to touch.

If this is too much compression through your forearms,

Then bring the hands to the outside of the hips.

We're compressing through the finger joints,

The wrist joints,

And the elbows.

You may want to bring your chin to the earth or the forehead.

Or the forehead.

And listen to your breath.

The mudra represents unshakable trust.

Trust that our life and our moments unfold exactly as they're supposed to.

About ten breaths.

Then you'll roll onto either hip,

Removing the arms out from underneath you.

Roll over onto your back.

And come to twisted root or eagle legs.

The right thigh will drape over the left.

Come under the calf and hook onto the ankle.

If the bind through the lower body isn't happening for you,

Just bring the knees to stack on top of one another,

Coming into a supine twist to the left hand side.

The right arm will extend long.

You settle back into the body by listening to the whisper of the breath.

Feeling the caress of the breath on sensation.

Observe where your attention is.

Discern if it's a place you want it to be.

Draw it back to your experience.

Anchor it to the breath,

To the texture of your energy,

The quality of it.

You'll bring the knees back up,

Unwind the legs.

The left leg will come on top,

Eagle legs or twisted root.

Drop the knees to the right hand side,

Extend the left arm long.

Nowhere else to go,

No place to be.

Just connecting with ourselves.

Bring the knees back up.

Uncross the legs,

Extend the legs straight out in front of you.

Bring the hands back into your mudra and shakeable trust,

Resting the mudra on your chest,

Settling the bones heavy towards the earth,

And observing what a practice of trust does,

How it affects the mind,

The body,

And the spirit.

Nowhere else to go,

No place to be.

You can stay with the mudra rested on your heart space.

Or extend out to your final shavasana.

Did any negativity or doubt disappear?

Nowhere else to go,

No place to be.

I'll leave you in this place of rest.

Thank you for joining us in this Yin Release practice.

With light,

Love,

Gratitude,

And grace,

Namaste.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Reviews

Hello beautiful 🌷🌸🌷🌸🌷🌸Thank you so much for the wonderful yin yoga practice 🦋🗺️☀️my world is light sunny and so relaxing 🌈I’m floating 🕉️have a blessed day 🙏Namaste