Relax Effortlessly

Hi. Welcome to relax effortlessly. This class is really is exactly as it sounds. We're here to just come into a state of relaxation, which I know can sometimes feel challenging. So most important, for the class is that you're in a space that you feel comfortable and safe in and that you have all the props for this class. And today, we're gonna be using Two Blocks a bolster, a blanket, and a strap.

We're gonna begin on our backs. So go ahead and lie down. And once you're on your back, you can decide if you wanna bend your knees or start in Shavasana with your legs straight. Whatever your preference is. Some of us feel more comfortable with the needs spent.

Once you're on your back, let your arms rest alongside your body. Let's all take a cleansing breath together in through the nose. And you'll open your mouth and exhale. We'll do that once more, inhale deeply through the nose, fill up See if you can even take in a little bit more. Pause.

And then out through your mouth, exhale completely. Just feeling how your body weight is already releasing towards the earth. Let's place one hand over our heart, one hand over the abdomen. Just to tune it in to how your body moves as you breathe. So feeling your abdomen and your chest rise as you inhale.

And noticing how the abdomen and the chest falls as you exhale. So just paying attention to how your body moves as you breathe. Our bodies are so intelligent It just knows how to breathe for you. And with your hands on your body, take a moment to set an intention for your practice. What are you inviting into your practice energetically?

And then from here, you can blink your eyes open. If your legs are straight, bend your knees, we're gonna reach for our strap. So using your strap for this first part, you're gonna loop it around the right foot And once you have your strap around your right foot, you can begin to straighten your leg up towards the ceiling. You're holding the strap in each one of your hands, and the strap is separated. So your shoulders have space.

Your right knee can slightly be bent. What you wanna work on here, and it's a really subtle and micro adjustment but drawing the outer part of your right hip. Right? So the outer part of that right hip towards the front edge of your mat. And from here, you can straighten your left leg, aligning your left heel with your left hip. This is an excellent stretch, not only for your hamstring, but also for your lower backs.

If you have anything going on in your lower back, This is super therapeutic. I also like to include this as, like, a nighttime routine if you just need, like, a little stretching before beds? So you're lightly tugging on your strap, not pulling too hard. Being really mindful. With how much effort you're putting into this.

Take one more deep breath. We'll transfer both ends of the strap in the right hand. You're gonna place your left palm on top of your left thigh to keep that side of your body anchored. Turn your right toes to the right and slowly draw that right leg over to the right. So something to just keep in mind less is more here.

Right? So a little bit goes a long way. And as you continue to exhale into this stretch, maybe You have a wider range of motion with that right leg. If you wanna take it further to the right, again, being truthful with that left side, so that side is staying anchored. And bringing your right leg back to center. You're gonna transition both ends into the left palm of the hand.

Take your right thumb for a moment and just stick it into that right hip crease. Again, we wanna do our very best here to draw the outer part of that right hip forward. And then take that leg over to the left. Your right arm can extend to the right. This is really a luxury stretch in the sense of that you're just taking the time to do one thing at a time. To really drop in and to genuinely be interested in yourself in this moment.

And coming back through to center, we'll remove the strap away from the right foot. Just set it down to the side for a moment. Hug your right knee into your chest. Give it a big squeeze. We're gonna take this into a twist.

So you're gonna open your right arm to the right. Drop your knee over to the left. Deep inhale through the nose. Full exhale. And back to center, bring your both knees in, and set your right foot on the mat, right knee bends.

Grab your strap. Let's loop it around the left foot. And when you're ready, you can straighten your left leg towards the ceiling. That left foot is flexed. At this time, you're wrapping the outer part of your left hip forward.

So just trying to align your hit points. They're like headlights staring at the sky or the ceiling. Same direction. And when you're ready, you can extend your right leg straight, flexing that right foot firming your right thigh. Just revisiting your inhales and your exhales as often as you need to.

So not engaging with our thoughts, but just staying present with the shape of your body. Your inhales, your exhales, your intention for the practice. From here, your strap is gonna move over to your left palm. Take your right palm over your right thigh so you can help ground that leg. And turn your left toes to the left and guide that leg slightly towards the left. This is my tighter side, so I can already feel the right side of my body is lifting.

So, again, less is more. Deepful breaths. We'll take one more big inhale through the nose, filling up to the top of the lungs. Stay for the exhale. Coming back through to center, switching hands, strap goes into the right, take your left thumb into the left hip crease so that you can, again, draw the outer part of the left hip forward and then guide that leg over to the right.

When your left arm can extend. Just a couple more breaths, really leaning into your exhalation. Because that's what's gonna inform your body as far as how much further you can go into a stretch. And back to center, Take your left knee or left foot out of the strap. Hug your left knee into your hands.

Try it towards your chest. Give it a squeeze. And we'll take an open twist. Left arm goes left. You can shimmy your hips slightly to the left as you drop your left knee to the right.

Big inhale, full exhale, And coming back through to center, place both knees in your chest, give them a squeeze, and just set your feet on the mat for a moment so you can just feel a new alignment in your spine, a more spacious in your lower back. And then from here, we're gonna come up to a seated pose to set up for our next position. So We're gonna go into a more restorative part of the class where you're really not gonna be using as much effort. You're going to need two blocks here. So the way to set up your two blocks One's gonna go at the top of the mat, and the other one's gonna go just a little bit lower.

So lowest heights, like you're creating an l shape with your blocks, you'll take your bolster and just set it on top. And if you don't happen to have two blocks and you have a bolster, you don't need to do this on two blocks. You can just lay the bolster on the floor and do it that way. But it's nice to have that, like, added support and to upright your body. For the blankets, I like to use this to support the thighs. So if you have a blanket, you're just gonna open it up.

It's like a little rectangle from here. You're pinching the sides of the blanket so that you can roll it up like a little burrito. And then at that point, it's pretty tight roll. We're gonna sit up against the bolster. You wanna sure that your lower back is touching the back or the front of the bolster.

And then we'll do the soles of the feet together. Place your blanket on top inside your the rest the sides of the blanket underneath your thighs. So once you have your setup, go ahead and lie down on your bolster. And make any necessary adjustments. You wanna feel that your lower back has support.

And this is just so luxurious to to be able to go into a posture like this and have all this added support. So you should feel really good about yourself for showing up to this class. Very easy to select or choose something where there's more effort in doing. But, really, the results of relaxation or has such a lasting effect. So you'll have all this energy.

For the remaining part of the day or whatever it is that you need it for. So when you're ready, close your eyes. Allow the next couple of exhales to be an invitation for the backside of your body to settle onto your props a little more. The exhale really becomes an invitation to land in this moment in time. The next time you breathe in, Just notice the breath at your nostrils observing the breath as it goes in through the nose.

And as it exits through the nose, And as you breathe in, we'll count the breath inhaling for 1, 2, 3, pause, exhaling, counting backwards from 4, 3, 21. I'll do that again. In hell. 1, 2, 3, pause, exhale, 4, 3, 21. Inhale. 1.

2, 3, 4 holds. So now, exhalee, one number greater from 4, from 5, exhale for 3, 2. 1. We'll do that one again. Inhale. 1, 2, 3, 4, pause, exhale, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1 more in Elling 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, all the way to 6. Hold.

From 7 counting backward, exhale 7, 6, 54321inlone 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, pause, exhale, 7, 6, 5, 43, 2, and 1. Take a regular breath in, and a full complete breath out. Letting go of your breath, control, and practice. Just organically, your body is breathing for you. Feel the whole weight of your backside leaning into the props.

There's no rush to come out of the pose. Just be mindful of the level of your energy. Try to be a little more effortless as you transition out. So placing your feet on the mat We're gonna roll to one side. Doesn't matter which side lifting yourself up and just taking your body over to the other side.

So using the bolster again for Shavasana set up, we're gonna lie down on our backs as a counter post to what we just did. So placing your bolster underneath your thighs. You don't need your blocks anymore. So just set them over to the side. If you wanted to cover your body, you can fully cover your body.

With your blankets. I suggest that for a practice, a longer shavasana so your body stays on the warmer side. I wanna make sure that you are totally comfortable If you need more pillows, you can grab some. Most importantly, your heels stay on the mat so they're not hanging in the air on how you rest your arms alongside your body or maybe your hands are just resting on top of your abdomen. Just placing your body in this special way, which really is the translation for Vinyasa.

So here we are placing our body in this very special way. You'll just start to Notice your body breathing. Notice how it's breathing for you. Imagine you're in the center of a circle in the circle that is made up of anything that you wish, and the circle serves as a protective shield. I'm just bringing you another layer of comfort and safety.

So you can relax. Notice your heels. Notice how they're heavier. Your calves. The back of your thighs, back of your pelvis, The low spine, mid spine, and upper spine.

The back of your shoulders. Back of your upper arms, elbows, forearms, and your hands. And feel the weight. The back of your head. Noticing the whole backside of your body.

Effortlessly relaxing into the earth. And feel the surface of the front of your body. Notice the front of your body softening and effortlessly relaxing towards the earth. Notice your whole body. Effortlessly at ease.

Start to deepen your breath. Notice your body is breathing. Bring movements back into your toes and your fingers. Bent your knees. Placing your feet on the mat or on the prop.

Just being aware that we're transitioning. From here, you'll make your way to a seated pose. You can roll over to the side and to fetal position. And from fetal position coming up to your seated pose. Once you're sitting, just take a moment.

Notice your breath, your body, your heartbeats, Perhaps even reimagining yourself in that circle, the center of your circle, That's offering of a protective shields, really serving as a container to just hold that space of relaxation within you. Drawing your palms together in front of your heart, bowing your chin, honoring yourself, or showing up, honoring these teachings of yoga, that help us and guide us towards our more harmonious place within From here, lift the chin, open your eyes. Namaste.