My name is Caroline and today I'm sharing with you a quick yoga reset you can do in your car after a commute or a long drive or whenever you find yourself in your car and needing a moment to yourself.
As we all know driving can be stressful especially when there's heavy traffic or even inclement weather.
Too often I think we're rushed from place to place completing errands heading to appointments that it's easy to start to go on autopilot and forget even where we are how we got there.
I suggest to use this quick practice to give yourself a pause between your drive and your destination.
Allow yourself to shed any stress or negativity from your drive or from your day and enter your destination or the rest of your day with a renewed energy and a fresh perspective.
Important to note please only start this practice once you have arrived at your destination or you are otherwise in your car safely parked out of traffic.
We'll begin with centering.
Once your car is in park adjust your rear view mirror so that you can see your own face and look into your own eyes.
As you gaze upon yourself ignore things like how your hair looks or how your makeup is.
Focus instead on your own facial expression.
Check on the space between your brows.
Is it furrowed or stressed?
On an exhale soften the lines of your forehead and your brows.
Next look at your jaw.
Is it clenched shut?
Give yourself a gentle smile here to relax all the way through your jaw.
Gaze into your eyes.
Do they appear angry or stressed?
Think of how you would look at a person whom you love and put more of that energy into your gaze.
Take several deep breaths here.
Noticing how your face looks and how you feel.
Continue breathing and give yourself permission to feel just a little bit better right now.
Allow your body to catch up with your mind.
Sometimes we don't know if we're feeling stressed or angry but our face says it all.
Tell your body starting with your face to leave any negativity from the day behind you and never look back.
Next we're going to get out any pent up frustration that might be lingering from traffic or from your day or anything else that you're holding onto.
Start by bringing your hands to their proper 10 and 2 o'clock position on the wheel.
Then we're going to switch them.
Your right hand will move to where your left hand is at the 10 o'clock position.
Your left hand will move to where your right hand was at 2 o'clock.
Your arms are crossed at the elbows.
Take a normal breath here.
Put your hands on the wheel but not gripping too hard.
Deep inhale and a soft exhale.
On your next inhale take in a big powerful breath filling all the way up through your lungs.
On your exhale stick your tongue out.
Turn your gaze up between your eyebrows and force out an audible lion-like roar with your breath.
Let out anything that you're holding onto.
Take two more deep breaths like this.
Fill in all the way.
Expand through your lungs.
Sit up even taller.
Then on your exhale let it all out.
Make your last one louder than the previous two combined.
Full breath in through the lungs.
Fill your lungs.
Expand your chest.
Fill your belly.
And then let it all out with a big roar.
Return to your normal breath.
Bring your hands back to their proper 10 and 2 o'clock positions.
Back where they started.
And from here release your right hand from the wheel and turn your palm so that it's facing toward you.
Close the fingers of your right hand into a fist squeezing gently.
And then tilt your fist away from your face so that your wrist is instead facing upward toward the ceiling of your car.
On your inhale squeeze your fist closed.
And then on your exhale open your fingers out wide with the palms still facing up.
Spread your fingers as far apart as they can go comfortably.
On your inhale bring your fingers back to a fist.
Squeeze it closed.
And exhale open out wide.
And do that two more times.
Inhale squeeze closed.
Exhale stretch out wide.
And last one.
Inhale to a fist.
And exhale open out wide.
Return to your normal breath.
Relax your right hand.
Bring it back gently to its place on the wheel.
Take a full round of breath here in and out.
And now we'll take the left hand off the wheel.
Again turn your palm so that it's facing toward you.
And here engage in your fist.
Close the fingers tight.
And then first tilt your fist away from you so that it's facing towards the ceiling.
On your inhale squeeze your fist closed.
And then exhale open out your fingers wide with your palms still facing up.
Spread your fingers as far apart as they can go.
Inhale bring your fingers back to a fist.
Squeeze closed.
Exhale it out wide.
And we'll take two more.
Inhale to a fist.
Engage through your fingers.
And then exhale out wide.
Stretch and make the space between the fingers as wide as you can.
And last one.
Inhale squeeze your fist closed.
And exhale fingers out wide.
And return to your normal breath.
Relax through the fingers of your left hand.
And bring your left hand back to the wheel.
Adjust your grip on the steering wheel so that your hands are now at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions.
So right hand at 3 o'clock,
Left hand at 9 o'clock.
Keeping your elbows gently bent.
Lower your shoulders down and back as if your shoulder blades could move even closer together behind you.
Squeeze your elbows and your upper arm bones toward your ribs.
As if you're trying to clutch a notebook or a file underneath your arm.
Keep this engagement and as you inhale sit tall and extend through the crown of your head up towards the ceiling.
On your exhale continue to soften and relax through your shoulders.
But keep that engagement in your arms.
Three more breaths here.
Inhale sit up tall.
Close your eyes as you exhale engage and relax.
Two more.
Breathe in.
And breathe out.
Last one.
Inhale tall.
And exhale soften your shoulders.
Return to your normal breath.
Maintain your loose grip on the steering wheel at your 9 and 3 o'clock positions.
Elbows gently bent.
This time on your inhale shrug your shoulders all the way up toward your ears as high as they'll go.
And on your exhale let them drop back down gently.
Once more just like that.
Inhale shrug your shoulders up up up.
Then on your exhale gently lower them back down.
Again inhale and lift your shoulders to your ears.
This time on your exhale you'll roll your shoulders first back toward the seat before letting them drop down gently.
Inhale them back up.
And as you exhale first bring them back and then down.
Do this two more times.
Inhale up.
Exhale down.
Continue imagining the center of your head lifting up to the roof of your car.
Inhale up.
Keep your chin neutral.
Sit tall.
Relax your neck.
Exhale them down as you widen through the front of your chest.
Stay in this position right here.
We'll take three more silent deep breaths.
Shedding the energy whatever happened so far during your day.
Making space for whatever is yet to come.
One more deep breath in through your nose.
And to your side out.
I hope that you enjoyed this short practice.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
May you always see your inner courage.
Speak your strengths and hold joy in your heart.
Namaste.
