Begin to Yin

Nice to be here together. This first sequence is designed to start to get us used to offering ourselves to shape for a slightly extended period of time. We're gonna spend the entire time supine pretty much so you're gonna wanna make sure you have a comfortable surface. I'm working on two mats. You might be on a carpet or put a little extra bit of padding.

Oki doki, we'll begin on our sides and we'll find what might be called a reclining half hero pose. I'm gonna lie down on my back to you so you can see what I'm going behind me. So come down on your left side perhaps. Bring your left hand underneath your head. Shnuggle in a little bit through your hip and just make sure you're centered.

Then as you're ready, once you feel balanced, you're gonna bring this top right foot into your right hand. So some of you might find your foot, some of you might find your ankle. Depending on your shoulder flexibility or how you're designed. Some of you might even tuck that foot under. You're gonna have to find out what works best for you, and then once you have found your hold, you're gonna draw that heel in towards the buttox a little bit until you start to feel a stretch through the front of the right thigh.

Now do your best to let an exhale happen as you soften the belly. Soften a little bit through the face. As you're drawing that heel in towards your buttox, what some of you are gonna do is draw your right sit bone under just the slightest bit so as you draw your right sit bone under just a the slightest bit. That will increase the opportunity. Let your shoulder relax as much as possible.

It's not so easy 'cause you are using your arm, and while you could keep your left elbow bent and your head resting in your hands. You could also make the decision to extent your left arm out and let your left ear drop down to your left shoulder. Okay so whichever feels more comfortable. Make sure you're not straining too much in this hand and you can change the position a little bit because the right arm is simply in support of offering a stretch through that thigh. We're gonna be here for about two minutes.

It's already been about a minute 15. So not much longer. Softer a little bit in your belly. Softer a little bit in the eyes. Notice if your tendencies to roll your body forward or back a little bit and just see if you can find more of a center point.

Just start to be aware of where you are. Nice. Beautiful. You may draw that right sit bone under just a little bit more. Just to increase the flavor for the last few beats, and then as you're ready, gently relax the intensity of the hold.

Let your right leg release back on top of your left leg. Pause and then tenderly roll onto your belly and as you roll onto your belly let your elbows go wide. Maybe rest your head down on your hands, and then just let your awareness pay attention to how it feels down around that lower sacrum. Lower back, down through the thigh. Like be aware of the results of offering yourself to a stretch for a slightly extended period of time.

If you're not sure how the low back feels on the right side or the thigh, then let the mind do her job and compare. Okay nice, let's try that on the other side. So now you're gonna roll onto your right side. So it's the same idea. Kinda get comfortable.

Snuggle in, right hand might come underneath the head for support. Keeping your knees slightly bent usually is more balanced. You can make this situation more difficult by extending your right leg straight if necessary. Okay bend the left knee. Find the left ankle or foot in that left hand and you're gonna try to find the spot where you can draw that heel in close.

So you're drawing that heel in towards your buttox, and we're gonna be here again for about two minutes. So I'm hoping that you found the grip that works for you. You can keep that leg a little lifted or you can let it relax back and down, and then to increase the opportunity, you would draw that left sit bone under just enough. So as you draw that left sit bone under a little bit, that's gonna increase the opportunity of stretch through the front of that thigh. Again remember that you can keep your head supported in your right hand or you can let your arm extend and your head relax.

You just go with what feels easier for you, more comfortable I'm gonna change my grip a little. For me personally 'cause of how I'm designed. It feels better to have my hand holding my top of the foot and toes in. Nice. I'm gonna organize my right leg a little straighter.

You wanna fiddle so like we talked about in the principles of practice. While we're looking for a somewhat still place, we're not trying to hold something rigid, and as you get information that something needs to shift or move a little bit, you follow it. Nice. We've only got about 15 more seconds. Softer in the eyes.

Kinder in the jaw. Beautiful, little softer in the belly. Gorgeous, then you're gonna let that left foot relax. Without rushing you're gonna roll onto your belly, and as you rest on your belly let your elbows go wide. Rest your head down on your face, and just let your hips wobble a little bit and then pause and just see if there's any result for you.

Any feeling of tingling or sensation down in that lower left side. In the back, in the thigh. You know these practices are in relationship and so we're starting to study the effect and find out if they're useful. Okay really nice. Now you're gonna roll onto your left side again for what we call reclining Buddha, and we're moving into a shoulder stretch.

So you roll onto your left side again. Left hand comes underneath the head. Knees are slightly bent again. Release your right arm up towards the sky. Soften the right elbow and just flush shoulder a little bit.

Rolling the shoulder slightly forward and rolling the shoulder slightly back, and then maybe do that at least one or two more times. Rolling the shoulder forward, and rolling the shoulder back. And then eventually you're gonna come into a spot where you're rolling the shoulder forward let the right elbow bend. Let the hand come behind you. As the hand comes behind you, back by your sacrum.

You're gonna kinda shnoogle that hand up the body a little bit. Roll your shoulder back and down. Send your elbow slightly forward. Now we're gonna be rolling onto our back and gently pinning this hand underneath us, and we're gonna rest there for about two minutes. So carefully carefully roll onto your back.

I like to be on the soles of my feet, tucking the hips under a little bit to the left, and as you roll onto the back, most likely you're gonna start to feel a sensation through the side or the top of this right arm. Through the shoulder blade. Let a bit of (exhales) happen. Okay this left hand can rest down along your side or on your body. And the play here is to just get used to the sensation as you make more room for it.

So soften the belly. Kind in the eyes. Letting the right shoulder blade feel heavy. Again I've suggested the knees bent soles of the feet on the floor but if you would prefer to let the legs go straight then go for it. Let the eyes be soft or closed.

Feel the sensation around the shoulder. Allow the inhale to create a sense of opening and let the exhale help create a sense of acceptance. Feel the inhale open. Feel the exhale accept. Wider the base of the skull a little kinder in the eyes.

Nice. Not much longer now. And then as you're ready you're gonna gently roll just enough to the left side so you can free that right arm and rest on your back. Both palms turned up and pause, and be aware of the sensation available to you now down through that right arm, the elbow. Maybe feeling it all the way into the palm even.

Again, as we've talked about. We're hoping these practices give us an insight, an experience of subtler aspects of ourselves. Only when you're ready, so if you ever feel in any of these sequences like I'm rushing you. Don't let me. The only thing I will encourage you to do is let me help you slow down.

So roll onto your right side. Right hand underneath the face. Left had rests gracefully down on the left side for a little bit while your get comfortable. Then as you're ready left arm comes up towards the sky. Soften the elbow and allow the shoulder to flush.

So rotating the shoulder forward, and rotating the shoulder back, and rotating the shoulder forward, and rotating the shoulder back, and the next time you rotate that shoulder forward, roll the shoulder forward let the elbow bend and the and the had is gonna come behind you. Shnoogle that hand up the back as far as feels correct. Send that elbow a little forward, shoulder a little bit forward, and then only as you feel ready you're gonna roll onto your back again. We're gonna be here about two minutes. I like to shift my hips just a little bit right so they feel more even.

I like to bend my knees soles of the feet on the floor. Big deliberate inhale, exhale let a (exhales) happen. Most likely this side is different. Again we're not trying to hold a posture rigidly. There's nothing rigid about you.

Continually even as you might feel like you're in stillness the breath is moving, the blood is moving, the heart is twisting and turning. Things are never still. Okay so maybe though let the breath help you be here so you might feel the rise of the inhale in the shoulder. It kinda takes you out of the situation a little bit, and as you exhale can you let the shoulder blade feel heavier, eyes kinder, mouth softer, yes. You might let your eyes be open but if they're open let them be soft, and if your eyes are closed be tuning your inner eye into where the sensation is.

Yeah. Beautiful. Okay as you're ready roll just enough to the right to free your left arm. Rest on your back, palms turned up, and just be aware of the juice of you that now might be more available. Yeah.

And really allow for these soaking moments, and so if you wanna soak here longer. If I'm rushing you, just pause or slow me down. Okay but only as you're read let the knees come into your chest and wobble a little bit side to side. Really beautiful, and then we're gonna move into a spinal twist. Which will be our last sort of held asina.

So I'm gonna suggest that we keep this super simple. So keep the knees together. Let your arms come out from the shoulders. Palms turned up. Inhale here and as you exhale bring the knees over to your left.

Bring your right palm on top of your left palm. Once you have that organized, squeeze the knees a little bit and then circle your right arm over the top of your head back over to the right. I like to let the elbow bend a little bit. As I let the elbow bend, my shoulder relaxes a little bit more back down towards the floor and you can watch what your right knee does. It's the natural tendency is to let the right hip kind of roll back and the right knee come away from the left.

There is no problem with this, but to pay just the slightest amount of attention to keeping the right knee over the left and using your left hand to help that will just create a little bit more stability around the sacrum area. Which can help allow the twist to feel like it gets into some different nooks and crannies. If you feel like you're working too hard to do that we're defeating the purpose of the yoga practice. And you can let it slide slightly. Again we're gonna be offering ourselves here for about two minutes of which we've already started to dance into.

Letting the area of the body that feels held feel heavier. Your gaze might be up at the ceiling. If it's too much on the neck, let your gaze be over towards the knees. If it feels quite comfortable you can let your gaze come out over the right hand but for most of us it's just asking too much. Yeah.

Just a handful more seconds. Okay, when you feel ready, you're gonna lead with the right top leg. The right knee's gonna come toward your face and back. Pause, wobble a little bit from side to side. Just let your feet come back down to the floor.

Knees bent and allow yourself to soak in the results of being in that shape for a little longer. Nice. I find the after taste of the twist quite magnificent. You may or may not agree. Okay then as you're ready knees come back into the chest and same idea.

So let both your knees come over to the right. Be aware of your left knee on top of the right. Bring your left palm on top of the right palm. Snuggle in a little bit and then when you're ready, you're gonna circle this left arm back over to the left, letting the elbow bend. Now just let the body go into her natural shape.

Which for most of us that left hip will fall back a little bit and the left knee will move away from the right knee, and this is completely appropriate and useful and it might be the perfect spot, but for some of you a little more stability will feel good. In which case you just might take a look at the left knee and just slide her over the right and just offer the slightest weight of your right hand. Again it's not a forceful thing. It's more just a gentle sense of support and then you kinda let your left arm roll away from you again, and it'll just give a different sensation. If anything it'll just start to show you that there's, as Roomie says, a thousand ways to kiss the ground.

So you can, you're just letting yourself find the spot. Again we're gonna be here for about two minutes of which we're already done quite a lot of. Gazes may be up towards the sky or over to the right knee which is the most gentle. Left shoulder and elbow are heavy. If it's too much.

If it's to much strain. Reach your left arm over the top of the head and soften. Sometimes that reduces some of the strain and also allows for more of a sense of extension. Yeah. Oki doki.

Lead with that top left leg. Let the left lag come back. Let the right leg follow. Hug your knees into your chest a little bit and then allow as you're ready. Allow the feet to come back down to the floor and pause.

Spread the toes wide. Big deliberate inhale. Exhale let a (exhales) happen. Let the arms come down along your side, soften the elbows, palms turned up. Wiggle back a little bit through your skull, and just allow the feeling tone of the twist to settle.

So soften the low belly, open up through the low back. Wide at the base of the skull and for some of you especially if you're newer. Keeping your knees bent will be more supportive and more effective in your low back. In fact I'm just gonna encourage that to keep your knees like this or maybe widen the feet a little bit and let your knees fall together. We'll be here for about two minutes.

Eyes close or just softly open. And just allow yourself to marinate in the sweetness of your slow attention. The practices of yoga are designed to increase our capacity for intimacy with what is. It's really hard to know what is unless we're willing to spend time. Okay, softer in the lips, kinder in the eyes.

Just about another minute. Beautiful now of course you are so welcome to stay here longer and even encouraged to do so, but if you're ready let the knees come into the chest. Wobble a little bit. Roll to a side. Press into the palm that's on the floor.

Let yourself come on up. Find a seat. Deliberate inhale, exhale everything. Soften the belly, widen the heart, easy up through the upper base of the skull. Hands find each other.

Namaste.