Yawn & Stretch: Nervous System Downshift

Just as animals instinctively shake, stretch, yawn, and sigh to release stress, humans are designed to regulate in the same way. In this gentle seated somatic practice, we’ll use breath, fascia stretching, and flowing movement to help release stored tension and calm the nervous system. This class is designed to support the body out of fight-or-flight mode and back into a deeper state of rest, relaxation, and safety. You may experience yawns, sighs, emotional release, or a sense of heaviness as the body softens and unwinds.

Transcript

Sitting up straight. Make sure your feet are firmly grounded into the floor. Bring your shoulders back. Set your head backwards on top of your shoulders. Straightening your spine. Use this time to release any tension in your belly. As you inhale. Let your belly expand to the front and side. Many of us hold tension through the abdomen all day. This is your time to let it completely relax. Deepen your breaths. And allow that oxygen supply to flood all of your tissues. Our first movement. Is going to stretch and release. Through the front. And back chains of the body. Bring your arms up. Into a cat disposition. From here. Pull the elbows back. Arch your back forward slightly. And notice how your chin naturally floats up to the ceiling. Feel the stretch through the front of the body. And now. . . Bring your arms in front of you. Four arms together. And allow your spine to curl forward. Head looking down into your lap. Feel the stretch through the back of the neck. Mid back and lower back. We're going to combine these moves with the breath. Inhale and bring the arms up. And back to cactus. Stretching through the front. Exhale. Bring the arms in, Curl your spine forward. Inhale. Exhale. Curl. Inhale, Cactus. Exhale. Curl Continue breathing and moving. Always listening to your body. Never pushing through pain. Always honoring your body's limits. This exercise should feel good. Stretching through the front. And the back chains of fascia. Last one. And return your body. Back to centre. We've stretched through the front and the back. Now we're going to stretch through the sides of the body. Place one of your hands next to you. Make sure to keep this shoulder nice and relaxed. Bend your body. Towards your hand. Bending at your waist. And from here. Keeping the other elbow bent. Swoop it forward. And overhead. Looking up to the ceiling underneath your arms. Feel the tension through the fascia. Running from the underarm. Down the rib. To the hip. Swoop the arm back down. Come back to center. Place the hand down. And bend. Swooping the other arm. Up and overhead. Looking up at the ceiling. Feeling that pull through the ribs. Let's move with the breath. Exhale. And down. Inhale. Swoop upwards. Exhale, Hand down. Inhale, Swoop upwards. Exhale, Hand down. Inhale, Swoop upwards. Exhale, Down. Inhale. Continue breathing and moving. Setting your own pace. You may close down your eyes. And focus on curving the spine to the side. All movement. Coming from the West. Both butt cheeks. Remaining firmly on the surface. And notice how good this feels. Stretching the fascia. Expanding through the ribs. Allowing your breath to go deeper. Into the lung. Last one. And return back to your center. Using the palms of your hands. Reach them back. And make contact with your mid back. Feel the fingers. Through the skin. Take an inhale. And as you exhale, Let your elbows drop down. And let the friction between your hands and your mid back. Pull the skin. Forwards and down. Here we are pulling the fascia forward. This is to increase circulation. And to promote more of a stretch for our next movement. In this position. The pinky fingers. Should be close to your neck. Keeping the hands in position. And keeping the shoulders still. We're going to gently start circling the head. As if there is a pencil attached to the top of your skull. And you're drawing a circle on the ceiling. Start small. And as you get more comfortable with this movement. You can draw your circle a little bigger. And now notice. What's going on? Underneath your hand. Can you feel your muscles? Tightening. As your head moves through this circle. Can you feel any imbalance? Between the sides. I know that there is more tightness through the right side. I can feel the tension underneath my head. Moving as slowly as if you were underwater. Head feels light. Using almost no effort. For this movement. And circles the other way. Notice how all your thoughts have melted away. How this movement has become a meditation. Feeling every stretch. Every pull through your muscles. Bring your head back to center. Release your hands. And we're going to end with some circular stretches. Bring your arms up and overhead, Making fists. Flexing. Backwards. Exhale. And lower your arms. Feeling as if someone is pulling your arms outwards and to the side. Hold that tension through the arms and body. This is a stretch and contraction at the same time. Just like the stretch you do when you wake up in the morning. Inhale, Arms up. Exhale stretch them all the way out and down Two more times. Inhale. Arms up. Respect. And exhale. Feeling that invisible pull. And last time. Inhale up. And exhale. Stretching and contracting at the same time. And return back to your center. Place your hands on your thighs. If you're feeling really sleepy. You can lay down on your back. This is your time to rest and continue releasing. Open your mouth wide, Stretching out your jaw and face. Allow this to turn into a yawn if it feels good. Close down your mouth. Body still. There is nowhere to be. And nothing else to do. Scan through your neck. Shoulders. Chest and torso. Notice how different they feel. Compared to when you first began this practice. And gratitude. To yourself. And to your body for completing this practice. Thank you so much for practicing with me.