Calm Down

Hi, welcome, let's get started. Wrap one arm around your waist and the other over your shoulder. Relax your neck, give yourself a hug. Start to deepen your breath. Get a sense of how your body expands and moves when you breathe.

Maybe you feel your belly, your ribs and your chest all move as you inhale. Relax at the top of that breath and feel for that contraction in the exhale. The next time you inhale fully, when you get to the top, pause. And it's time to exhale, exhale fully. At the bottom of the exhale, relax your muscles and pause.

Start the cycle again, so it's a four part breath. Exhale, pause, exhale, pause. Take three more cycles like that. Start to make your exhale a little longer than your inhale. Take your hands down, reach out with your right, lean over to the side, tilt your head to the right and stay with this four part breath.

Inhale, pause, exhale, pause and lift your left hand a little. Come up to center on an inhale and exhale to the other side. Four part breath, inhale, pause, exhale, pause, inhale up to center again. Bring your hands in front of you with straight arms so your body weight is supported. Let yourself sink down and exhale.

Keep going with your breath, inhale, pause, a longer exhale and pause. Relax your neck completely. Let your arms do the work of supporting you, everything else is soft. That might be enough for you today, but if you want to go a little further, walk your hands forward to a place where you feel comfortable, if it feels like too much, back up. And use your hands and arms to push yourself back up again.

Finish the cross of your legs and same again. Place your hands on the floor, straight arms, let your bones support you. Relax your neck completely and stay with this four part breath. Long exhale. That might be plenty or walk your hands forward, gradually come down more towards the floor and use your hands to walk back up.

Turn on your mat and come onto all fours. Table top position with a neutral spine and find your breath. Full inhale and as you exhale, move your tailbone down, draw your belly in towards your spine and look towards your belly button. When your exhale comes, follow the movement to go the other way. Lift bones up, belly down and exhale, belly towards the spine.

Take two more cycles of this cat-coy breath, following your own rhythm. And come to table top with a neutral spine, take a full breath here. So this brings the attention into the low back. Find your elbows, sit back towards your heels, curl your tailbone down. Exhale to neutral, table top again and exhale back.

Full breath to table top and this time exhale all the way back to child's pose. Your toes together and knees apart slightly. Sit on here for three full breaths. Next inhale, follow it up to table top. Tuck your toes under and exhale to downward dog.

Breath moves first, inhale table top. Pause at the top and this long exhale all the way to child's pose. Stay down for a cycle of breath. Table top on an inhale, downward dog exhale. Table top inhale and child's pose, exhale.

Stay down for one cycle of breath. Repeat the sequence with your own breath, inhale table top. Exhale down dog. Table top inhale and exhale. Cycle of breath here.

Inhale up. Exhale down dog. Inhale table top. Exhale child's pose. Stay down.

Three full cycles of breath. Exhale pause, long exhale and pause. Come to table top on an inhale. Down dog on an exhale. Stay here for a couple of breaths.

Then inhale table top. Exhale child's pose. Three breaths down here. Come to table top again. Leave your chest forward so you lie down on your belly on the mat.

Place one hand on top of the other, your forehead on your hands. Stay here and breathe. Keep your right hand where it is, reach back with your left hand, take hold of the top of your left foot. Hold your left foot on an exhale in towards your hip. When you send your breath all the way down the front of your left thigh.

Another cycle of breath. And slow release that foot down. And sides. Right hand on your right foot and on your exhale draw the foot in towards your hip. On your inhale send your breath all the way down the front of that thigh.

One more cycle of breath. And release the foot down to the floor. Bring your right hand on top of your left, rest your forehead. Let your belly press into the mat. As you breathe in, pull back towards your spine as you breathe out.

Bring your hands underneath your shoulders. Keep your knees on the floor, take a full breath in here and exhale yourself to table top. Full breath in here. Exhale back to child's pose. Send your breath into your lumbar spine, the bottom of your back.

See if you can feel your belly press into your thighs as you breathe in. Long exhale. Bring your hands again underneath your shoulders and use your arms to push yourself up. Keep your legs soft until you come all the way vertical. Hold here for a moment.

And take hold of your bolster. Place it on the mat in front of you. Take your left hip up to the side of the bolster and your hands on either side. The legs are relaxed. Use your breath to lengthen and elongate.

And exhale, come down over the bolster. Whether you turn your head to the left or to the right or keep it in the middle is up to you wherever you're comfortable. Stay there and breathe. Let yourself relax completely. Exhale.

Bring your arms under your shoulders again, lift yourself up. Press with your arms and come under your knees. Bring them through so that your right hip is against the bolster. Legs relaxed. Again, inhale and lengthen.

And exhale, fold. Bring your hands under your shoulders, use your arms and push yourself up on an inhale. Your knees back underneath you and go back into child's pose. You can use the bolster to support your head. Bring your hands and use your arms to lift yourself up.

Rest for a moment. Set your bolster to one side where you can easily reach it and turn around and lie down on your back. Feet flat on the floor. Bring your hands onto your belly. And reach your arms for your knees.

Hold over the top of your knees or behind if that's more comfortable. Let your knees hang or let your feet hang. Full breath in. And as you exhale, pull your knees in towards your chest. When the inhale moves, straighten your arms.

Long exhale. Stay with the paws at the top and bottom of the breath just for a moment, just for a count. And grab your bolster and place it on the mat so you can lay with your knees over it. Rest it with your feet as you need to do and then both hands on your belly. Lay here and rest.

Rest for a moment. If you would like to lay longer, please do. Otherwise, deepen your breath. Bring one knee at a time in towards your chest. Roll onto your right side.

Keep your eyes closed and your neck soft. Use your arms to press yourself up. Bring the bolster around, you can sit up on the bolster. Rest here for a moment. Bring your left hand up, turn down your first two fingers to keep extending through your ring finger and your pinky finger and your thumb.

We'll practice alternate nostril breathing. Take a full breath in and out through the nose. Use your ring finger and pinky finger to press your cheek away slightly. Close your right nostril with your thumb. Exhale through the left.

Close the left, press your cheek away slightly, exhale through the right. Inhale right. Use the right side, open the left, exhale left. Inhale left. Exhale right.

Keep going with the sequence for three or four more cycles of breath. Exhale through the right. Finish by inhaling right. Exhaling left and rest your hand on your leg. Exhale through the right, exhale through the left, exhale through the right.

We'll finish with the same position we started, so bring one arm across your low ribs and your belly and the other one up over your shoulder. Soften your neck. Be with your breath for a minute in your own hug. Thank you very much for practicing with me and namaste.