Yin Yang Yoga Flow

In this flow, we will be balancing our yin and yang energies with a heat-building flow to start and a cool-down yin series to close. This flow is perfect for physical and energetic balance to begin (or end) your day.

Transcript

Hi, Friends. Welcome back to Your Journey Yoga. Today we have a yin-yang yoga flow. So we're going to be balancing out the energies of action and stillness. The energies of feminine and masculine, However it is that it resonates with you. We're going to do a little bit of both to balance out our physical state, Our mental state, Our energetic state. So we are going to begin today's practice standing at the top of our mat. And as you come to stand here, Just bring some awareness into your feet and decide if you would like to have them together, If you would like to have them hips distance. Whatever feels the most supportive for you. And even if the legs are apart hips distance, See if you can draw everything up and into your center line. Let your quads engage here. Lift your kneecaps. Low belly draws up and in. Lengthen all the way up through the crown of your head. And take a deep inhale in. Exhale to ground. Inhale reach your arms up and overhead. Exhale, Cactus, Open your heart. Inhale arms high. Take a gentle bend over to the left side. In-house center, Arms high. Bend over to the right. Inhale, Back to center, Reach the arms high. Exhale, Forward fold. Inhale to lift halfway. Exhale fold. Halfway lift. Forward fall. Last time, Lift halfway. Exhale, Plant your palms, Step back to your plank. Find a nice long spine here. Lift your low belly up and in. Taking a deep inhale. Exhale, Send your hips back, Downward facing dog. Inhale deeply here. And exhale out. Inhale to the toes, Ripple through the spine, Back to plank. Exhale, Send the hips back. Inhale, Ripple forward. Exhale, Send it back. Last time ripple forward. And send it back. This time bend your knees, Look to the top. And travel your way. In How to Lift Halfway. Exhale to fold. Root to rise. Urva-hastasana. Arms reach high. Exhale, Sit back into your chair pose. Again, Feet can be hips distance or you can bring them together. Seeing your weight back towards your heel. Lengthen your tailbone towards the earth. Nice long spine. Inhale in. Axel Airplane. Inhale arms high. Exhale, Airplane. Arms high. Exhale, Airplane. Inhale straighten the legs arms reach up Cactus Open Heart. Arms reach high. Bend to the left. Back to the sky. To the right. Back to the sky. Forward fold. Half way lift. Exhale, Plant those palms, Step back to your plank. This time we're going to slowly lower all the way down to the belly. Hands in line with the ribcage. Press the pelvis and tops of the feet into the mat as you slowly roll up, Baby cobra. Exhale, Let it go. Inhale, Rise. And release. Lift it up. Caress back down. Hands under the shoulders. Tuck your toes. Lift up to your plank. Strong core. Send it back downward facing dog. Deep inhale here. Exhale, Let it go. Inhale onto your toes, Look to the top of the mat. And find your way up. Halfway lift for wordfold. Root to rise, Urdhva hastasana, Arms reach high. This time we'll bring hands to heart center. Anchor down through your left foot, Peel the right foot up. Or right knee up, Sorry. Connect with your center, Draw that low belly up and in. Take an inhale in here. Exhale with control start to step it back into your crescent lunge land lightly Reach your arms up high. Inhale here. Airplane arms and torso. Arms high. Warrior II. Take a moment, Find your alignment here. Strong back leg. Check in with your arms, Get them level, Get them engaged. Inhale to your high warrior. Warrior 2. Reverse warrior Warrior 2. Start to pivot back to your crescent lunge. Step it up, Feet together, Hands together, Samasthihati. Inhale here. Excel out. Anchor through your right foot, Peel the left knee up. Again, Connecting with your center. Low belly draws up and in. Inhalin here. As you exhale, Gently step it back to your crescent lunge. Reach your arms up high. Take an inhale in here. Exhale airplane. Arms high. We're your two. Find your alignment here just for a moment. Strong back leg, Level arm. Inhale, High warrior. Warrior 2. Reverse warrior. Warrior II. Pivot back to your crescent. Step it up to the top. Hands to heart center. Inhale here. Exhale, Tadasana. Ur the Hassassinah. Cactus Open Heart. Arms reach high. Bend to the left. Back to center. Bend to the right. Back to center. For a root fold. Halfway lift. Exhale, Plant the palms, Step it back. You can move through a cobra, You could move through a chaturanga. Or you can send it straight back to downward facing dog. That is where we will meet. So when you get to down dog, Take a couple of breaths. Inhale in. Exhale out. Slowly begin to lower your knees down to the earth. Coming into our tabletop. Find a nice neutral spine here. On an inhale, Drop your belly. Gaze comes forward. Exhale round. Inhale the cow. Exhale the cat. One more time to count. Exhale the cat. Come back to your neutral spine. We're going to extend the left leg out long behind. Taking an inhale in here. As you exhale, We're going to step the left foot to the outside of the left hand. Maybe that right knee comes back just a tad. Now we're moving into the yin part of our practice. What we really want to be mindful of here is our body's edge. And so what we're looking for is that little point of resistance in the muscles. And once we find that in our stretch, That is where we will stay. Until the body signals to us that it wants to go deeper. Just take a moment here to tune in. Find that edge. And then once you find that edge, Begin to connect with stillness. Begin to engage with the practice of deep listening. With your body. Only moving into something deeper. When the body gives you the signal that it's ready to do so. That might just feel. . . Like a very gradual opening. Of the muscles, The softening. In order to listen for this, We really have to detach from the mind and from the ego. Do one more round of breath here. And then very slowly begin to bring that left knee back into your tabletop. You can find a round of cat cow in between if you'd like. You And then we are going to extend our right leg out long behind. And then step it to the outside of the right hand. I am on fists just because. . . My wrists are feeling a bit sensitive today, So. . . You can have the palms flatter. You can be on your fists as well. Same thing here. Feeling the body, Listening to the body, Finding that edge. When you find it. Settle it. Connect with stillness. Connect with ease. Letting the ego tell you that you should be going deeper. This pose should look different. We're gonna do one more round of breath here. And then we'll start to bring that right knee back into tabletop again. Option to find that round of cat-cow. Bye. And now from here, We're going to cross the ankles behind us. Use our hands to lower into a seat. I'm going to extend the legs out long. Find a soft bend in your knees here. Flex your toes. Sit up nice and tall on your spine. Reach the arms overhead. And again slowly slowly slowly move into this fold so you can really feel for that edge. Grabbing whatever part of the legs or the feet is available to you. When you find that edge, Connect with that stillness. Connect with ease. Connecting with the heart, Getting out of the mind and the ego, Moving into the space of the heart. Allowing the steadiness of the inflow and the outflow of your breath to also bring you that sense of stillness. We'll do one more round of breath here. And then one vertebrae at a time begin to roll up through your spine. We're going to keep the left leg extended. I'm gonna bring the right foot to the inside of the thigh. Square towards your left foot here. Lengthen your spine and again very very slowly inching those fingertips down Find your edge. Settle in. So I love teaching these yin yang style flows because It really does give us the opportunity to see the benefit in the action. Well as in the stillness. Gives us the opportunity to balance out the masculine and feminine energies within us because we all have masculine and feminine energies. Regardless of how you identify. You can think of masculine energy as that heat, That fire, That action, The doing. You can think of the feminine energy as being softer. Cooler temperature wise Think of the feminine as deep listening, As connecting with intuition. And we really need both. We really do. We'll take one more round of breath here. And then very slowly begin to roll up through the spine. I'm gonna send that right leg out long. Left foot hugs in. With that nice long spine to start, You're going to inch those fingertips down the leg. Continue to listen. If you've never done a full yin yoga class, Highly recommend because it really does allow us to connect more deeply with our bodies and the wisdom and the intuition that lives there. It gives us an opportunity to. . . Really connect with that. Which will help us when we show up to the more. . . Physically invigorating classes that move more quickly. Let's do one more round of breath here. And then one vertebrae at a time begin to roll up through your spine. And we're going to send both legs out long. And just take your time lowering down onto your back. As you come onto your back, You can start to bring your knees up towards your chest. You can find some circles here. Anything that feels good on your low back. And switch directions of your circles. We're gonna let the knees melt over to the left side finding a supine twist. You might extend your right arm and turn your gaze over to your right ear. If that feels good. Really allow yourself to melt into this twist. Begin to bring your knees through center. And take them over to the right. Start to bring your knees back to center. You can extend open into a Shavasana style pose with the arms and legs out long. Or you could come into Supta Baddha Konasana with the soles of the feet together, Knees wide. Letting your elbows open maybe in Supta Baddha Konasana, Hands behind your head. And just take a moment to notice how you feel. Thank you so much for choosing to practice with me. It has been an honor to do this with you. I will see you in the next video. Namaste.