Align to Sit

Hi everyone, welcome back. Today we're going to be doing a line to sit practice, so at the end of the practice we'll be attempting to sit or lie down if you like for that time for about 10 minutes and we'll be addressing some of the stickier places in the body that prevent you from sitting with ease. So we'll be working primarily on hamstrings and front body opening and softness and back body strength and with that being said we'll just start sitting and for you it might be useful to have one bolster for this practice or even a thick block or blankets if you have that and definitely a strap or whatever you have at home that could constitute as a strap. I'm just using two bolsters because of my belly to accommodate space for my belly which you'll see as we progress in the practice. So sitting comfortably dropping down into your sit bones, roll your shoulders up and around your ears and exhale let them roll back and down one more time like that, inhale deeply and right away exhale and drop any stresses, anything that's kind of got a hold of you right now, inhale and exhale let your right ear come down towards your right shoulder you can play with dropping your chin down towards your chest here and lifting your chin up into the air even, coming a little bit more neutral with your skull, a lateral neck stretch there and then inhale bringing your head back up and exhale over to the other side go straight over, deep breath in you can exhale take your chin down towards your chest and just feel how you can move the emphasis of the stretch around and you can move the chin up if you like, nice and tender in the neck and the tissue of the neck there right over to the side and then inhale your head up, beautiful I'm going to move the prop out to the side so you can do that too and come on to your knees in a kneeling position and then shift your shins over to the left so that your right sit bone comes a little closer to the floor or on the floor, left sit bone will be elevated, left hand out to the side right arm into a nice side bend if your neck are feeling tender you can hold on to your head and you're really accentuating that stretch through your right side by really dropping your right buttock and right sit bone, deep breath in, exhale it all out, pull yourself up inhale and we're going to shift ourselves through center and shins over to the right left buttock grounded, right arm out to the side inhale your left arm up, deep breath reaches you up, exhale lean over to the side getting that nice accentuated left side stretch see if you can feel it not only in your side but also in the side of your spine deeper into the center of your body inhale brings you all the way up and exhale to sit right down on your heels and let your right palm flip forwards pull your right fingers back reach out through your right thumb, deep breath in, exhale you can even tuck your chin here and then release that and switch sides pull your left fingers back, deep breath in and exhale release that shake out your hands turn to the front of your mat and step back into a downward dog and you take a few deep breaths in downward dog there peddling out your feet letting your head hang you can come high up onto your toes bend your knees send your sit bones back and up and then re-extend your legs and drop your heels and then on our next inhale we'll start to come high up onto our tip toes and walk our feet towards our hands hip distance or even wider apart pull up through your lower belly and exhale ground your heels dangle in a forward fold few deep breaths let the back of the neck go crown of the head open and empty out all that junk let your hands drop if you have weakness in your back bend your knees open your arms out to the sides and come up if you don't you can round up letting your head be the last thing to come up getting into the muscles of the back of the neck roll your shoulders up back and down and step to the top of the mat inhale your arms up look up and simply exhale your hands down by your sides one more time like that inhale arms up look up breathe it in exhale bend your knees fold forwards inhale your right foot back right knee to the floor top of the foot to the floor and come up big long inhalation exhale plank pose inhale here shoulders back belly lifts exhale take your knees down pull your shoulders away from your ears lower slowly inhale tops of the feet on the floor cobra exhale downward dog inhale your right foot forwards back knee down top of the foot press into the top of the foot to come up exhale forward fold inhale either round up or weak back lower people open your arms up reach your arms exhale one more time like that so beautiful inhale your arms up look up exhale fold freedom in the front body inhale right foot back knee down toenails press come up you can even lift your back knee up exhale plank pose inhale here exhale lower and you can also lower without your knees touching shoulders back inhale cobra swing your upper back through your shoulders exhale downward dog right foot forwards left knee down top of the foot you can even lift the knee off by pressing into the toenails exhale forward fold round up or straight spine it up inhale and exhale inhale the arms up exhale fold lengthen your spine a little bit different here downward dog step or hop inhale your right leg up exhale it through come up onto your fingertips low lunge strengthen your back leg deep breaths in and out press down into your feet a little strengthen your inner thighs soft spine inhale your way up lunge bend your back knee neutralize your pelvis lower navel back ribs up straighten your back leg two and three hands down exhale pop your back foot in put it on an angle heels hip distance apart inhale arc your spine attempt a back bend as you pull your right foot your right hip back sorry and exhale and fold round inhale and arc shoulders back butt sticks out back behind you and exhale and round inhale and open up space exhale and round and fold relief walk your hands forward left fingers right under your nose for some people on the outside of your right foot line right hand to your hip deep inhalation pull your right hip back spiral your spine revolve right up into your palate and if you like open up your right palm twisted triangle three deep breaths one if you really feel like you're curling through your spine you might even bend your front knee a little bit to support the back of the knee and come up on your shin to give you more space last deep breath exhale that right hand down deep breath in step back downward facing dog nice deep breath in here exhale lengthen back you can step or hop your feet to the top of the mat inhale and exhale fold round up or straight spine up arms up inhale exhale your hands down feel your feet inhale breathe it in arms up exhale and fold lengthen your spine downward dog step or hop inhale your left leg up exhale bring it through come high up onto your fingertips and strengthen your back leg breathe one two shoulders back a little bit neck soft and three feel the muscular action of your inner legs feet grounded inhale come up bend your back knee neutralize your pelvis lift your back ribs up and then straighten your back leg one and really feel that strength and stretch in your legs softness in your chest neck and skull two three fingertips find the floor back foot pops in heels hip distance grounding your back heel inhale attempt to back bend a little bit exhale and fold around inhale and shoulders back back of the chest draws the in and up and exhale release those back muscles one more time inhale create space exhale relief come up a little bit right hand right up underneath the nose or outside if you want a little bit more twist left hand to your pelvis pull your left hip back start to revolve your spine optional let the left arm reach up palm facing away from you three deep breaths one finding that delicious stretch on the left outer hip left IT band root into your feet soften your jaw two three let your hands come down deep inhale exhale downward dog let your breath support your pose fingertips cast forwards and down heels drop back and down like you're trying to make your foot size one size bigger and then we're gonna inhale until plank pose and exhale all the way down onto the belly so you do that and I'm just gonna take these two bolsters to support my belly so down on the belly hands by the low ribs toenails press legs engage and inhale tailbone shoots to the heels upper back curls up pellet curls up and back exhale come down again inhale come up maybe you're lifting a little bit more up squeeze your elbows together curl your palate up and back exhale come down keep your eyes super soft on this last one press toenails down inhale come up curl up pallet up and back lengthen the back of your neck and exhale and come down turn your chin to one side you can let your palms face up and release three deep breaths one two and three come forwards again walk your inner feet to touch and try to have your heels not touching if you can interlock your hands back behind you and then inhale legs lift chest lifts curl your palate up and back if that's too much on your neck look down your nose tip and shoot your skull forwards exhale come down inhale come up see if your heels can come apart your inner feet can touch exhale come down one more time inhale roll up if it you can interlock your fingers you can reach your arms back palms facing each other and squeezing them together and then exhale come down look right temple drops palms face up shoulders slump two more deep breaths balloon into your lower back open up those muscles there and come forwards with your hands here right hand in front left leg bends knees hip distance apart just to give you a bit more space reach back with your left hand grab a hold of the top of your left foot and drop it down towards your buttock outer buttock so you can engage your buttock muscles down towards your hamstrings using the power of your glutes to open your hip flexors and draw that heel down some of you with more open shoulders more flexibility in the shoulders you can lift your elbow up turn your hand so your fingers wrap around the toes and drop the heel down more for half big kasana engage your glutes and roll your chest forwards your straight leg is also awake deep breath in and exhale let it go switch sides inhale bend right leg grab a hold pull maybe turn your hand elbow up drop turn your chest forwards engage your legs drag your glutes down kind of dredging out that compression in your low back but also strengthening your low back in this back bend deep breath in exhale release come on down one more deep breath into your low back exhale last belly back bend bend your knees and reach back for one top of the foot or ankle reach back for the other and then kick your shins back again engage your glutes down into your hamstrings not together lift your heels a little bit and ease those shoulder blades into the back of the heart look down if it's feeling better for your neck to do that or I'm really loving lifting the palate up and back eyes soft deep breath in shoulders forwards shins back and exhale coming out of that feels the best we're going to inhale come up and cross our right arm in front of us palm up you can do this one arm at a time so letting your right temple or your chin come to the floor or you can depress that right shoulder away from your chin and cross your left arm in front palms up reach through your fingers and exhale chin down or forehead down show your tailbone back breathe into your low back and stretch out through your fingers and your wrist joints any inhale come up let's switch sides so left arm comes across palm up temple or chin down or both depress that shoulder a little bit so there's more space in front climb that right arm across palms open wrist joints open and come forwards legs are a little bit engaged breathing into that upper back and come up so here we're going to let our left arm come out to the side in a cactus arm or goal post position and roll on to our left side so of course you're probably going to be on the floor i'm on these bolsters i'm pushing with my right hand and my head comes down you should feel a pectoral stretch here if you're not press your left elbow down into the floor almost like you're going to lift your left hand up and maybe even take your right foot behind you let this feel amazing in the front of the chest opening up that front chest for sitting and allowing your shoulders to be released back one more deep breath one more deep breath come on up unwind let the blood rush in and over to the other side so i'm pushing with my right hand i can let my left arm reach left leg so i reach back maybe even place and the right elbow is getting a nice dropping down intensifying the flavor of that stretch in the right chest as much as i like legs engaged to drag your hips down and away from your face encouraging more space in your lower back you can play with reaching that top leg back and then come out of there and we're going to come up and back into a downward dog and then take your favorite way to lie on your back with your strap handy so i'm going to turn turn onto your back with this drop available right knee in towards your chest give it a nice squish and then let that right leg come up and some of you might not need a strap but most people are going to feel pretty happy having the strap around the top of the arch of the foot and you can wrap your hands around the strap a couple times to really let your elbows or your elbows and shoulders get heavy and you can play with bending and straightening and you mount your right leg to add on a hip flexor stretch you can straighten out your left leg engage it and drop it down so your sit bones here are shooting away from your skull spine is long chest heavy you might have quite a bent knee reach up through your heel and breathe to support your sitting practice you definitely don't want to be rounding your lower back into the floor here so think about pressing the pelvis down into the floor so that there's a little bit of space in your low back almost like a little bug could crawl under your low back and you wouldn't squash it so if you have the strap take both edges of the strap into your right hand and we're going to let that leg come out to the side you can also let go of your strap entirely make a little kickstand support with your elbow and hold on to your leg for some people that's more supportive if you're a little bit more flexible and you let that toe come down to the floor there's another variation for you here of bending your left knee in towards your chest taking the top of the ankle and tucking your toes first option for quadriceps stretch it's okay if your left hip is off the floor second stage is top of the foot on the floor engage your glute and drag it down lower back closer to the floor so it's okay if you're a little toppled over in this pose wherever you are take a few more deep breaths unhook that left leg if that's your shape inhale it back up and you might use a little abdominal here and curl your head towards your shin or your knee i'm not going to do that but just give you the option and then we'll release and let that leg go just take a little shavasana here almost moving towards our seated practice so we're going to switch sides right leg in left leg squishes in towards your armpit or your chest inhale reach it up hook bend and straighten wrap if you like maybe extend your right leg press your sacrum down and see if you can make space for a little friend to crawl underneath your low back so soft easy low back a little bit of its natural curve and that might make you bend your knee a little bit more it might make you feel it more in the upper insertion of the hamstring so feel free to pull some of your back to your foot feel free to pulse to soothe your nervous system at any time that you need to during this deep inhale exhale the leg out to the side you could create that kickstand support you could also re-bend your foot and even kind of roll on to the left buttock and allow your right buttock to come off just give yourself the permission to sort of topple and then maybe there's a little quadricep stretch in there tucking your toes reaching that knee away clearing out space in the front of your right hip maybe the top of the foot finds the floor beware of cramping in that if you're really using your hamstring to do that you can always come out and pulse your leg engage your glute drag it down exhale a lot unhook if you're in that shape inhale it back up up abdominal curl your head up draw your abdominal wall in tailbone curls up get round and then let it go head down and release so we're going to root down through the feet roll yourself up into a bridge pose walk your shoulders under you if you can interlock your hands press down through the back side of your arms and elongate your femur bones forwards in your chest towards your chin lift the chin a little bit so you don't obliterate the the neck curve make the shape a little bit more round maybe come up onto your toes maybe even hold your hips up up exhale make your way down little easy windshield wipers there knees in towards the chest knees wide feet together supine child's pose let go tension around your skull and then feet plant our last shape here you can grab a hold of your bolster or your block place it under your hips and let your legs come up can open up your arms wide and just letting your ankles roll and drain out your legs i like to even do a little rock here a little a little soothing action through the pelvis notice i'm i'm noticing here that i'm holding some tension in my legs so see if that's happening for you and you can really let the fascia around your leg bones soften up a little bit and your knees as well and drop down through your feet and we're going to make our transition to seated use your feet to press down lift your hips roll over onto your side and even though i could sit on a blanket or maybe even nothing at all because of the openness of my hips i love having the bolster for that little bit more support a little bit more relaxation in the belly a little bit more of that lumbar support and shock absorption lower back coming in so don't be afraid to really bring yourself up on a prop a couple shoulder rolls letting yourself drop into the mood for sitting for a few moments breath awareness gravity choose a position for your hands get the alignment of your skull just right on top of your spine let your jaw go close your eyes if that feels right for you or look down on a point at a point on the floor in front of you let your belly sink feel the the fullness of the bowl of your pelvis and feel the softness of the front of your chest soft front open even receptive in strong spine strong back soft face lifted back of the skull all easy breath and allowing the thoughts to come and go allowing the thoughts to be what they are allowing yourself to be as you are and then touching back into your now experience breath sensation sound and let that be your anchor so give yourself the spaciousness for your mind to wander and then when you notice that it does anchor yourself back in sensation in breath and sound so and then this process of allowing your thoughts to be what they are allowing yourself to be how you are notice that that's what the true heart wants the softness in the eyes and the jaw ease in the breath grounded in the set bones powerful in the spine so noticing the movement of breath in the body the touch of the breath as it enters the body the grounding is the breath leaves the body and noticing if you're controlling the breath is it possible to leave it alone so noticing what you're feeling sensing learning and is it possible not to label or analyze your experience or your thought patterns simply touch and go trust what's arising and come back home to the breath and bring some deeper breaths now into the back of the body into the back of the lungs and drop your chin a couple degrees let your eyes open and you did such a wonderful job with sitting and being present and thank you so much for joining me in this practice namaste