Good Morning Yin

Good morning. This is a morning in practice. It can really be practiced any time of day. This is an invitation to slow down and really drop in and offer yourself towards a bit of stillness. To be a nice balance to a more active and yassa practice or just a busy active life.

For this, it might be nice to have a blanket on your mat. It's optional. A bolster might be nice. My bolster today is a little bladder, you might use a folded blanket instead. It's up to you. Let's ease our way into a yin butterfly or a dragonfly shape.

I'll demonstrate what dragonfly looks like. Just bringing the legs wide. You might ease your way forward or work with a bolster out in front of you. The other option is coming into a yin butterfly. I'll explore that one.

You might sit up on your bolster. A blanket if that feels good underneath you. And then the yin butterfly, bringing the soles of your feet together knees wide. The feet are a little further out in front of you, more of a diamond shape for the yin practice. Just start by bringing your hands onto your knees, your shins.

Allow for an inhale as you lengthen, and then exhale. Begin to soften your face, soften your jaw and just easing your way forward. You might lean a little bit from side to side. You might choose to support the weight of your head with a prop or your hands or surrender and release the weight of your head towards the earth. Can allow for another inhale, exhale softening the face, the jaw.

And then the in approach, we're offering ourselves to the shape past of leave for a length of time, usually about one to five minutes, really with the intention of stretching the connective tissue. We're finding that appropriate edge of sensation. When you find that edge of sensation, allow yourself to pause and breathe in to where you feel it. Of allowing the inhale to create some space, awareness, and the exhale to soften and release any stickiness, any tension in the physical or subtle body. Notice the quality in the face, the eyes, allowing the shoulders to release. Oh, this is what you choose to do with your hands.

And often as we become more still, we're aware of how busy and restless and active the mind is. So here for the next minute or so, you might tether your attention to the breath. Just noticing the quality of the breath and the sensation of the breath in the body. Right? Often in the shape of the forward fold, it can feel That dull and achy, warm through the whole back of the body. Just believe that connective tissue is most dense around the pelvis. Up through the sacrum hips spine into the neck.

You might explore breathing into the back of the body, nourishing the kidneys. Mitnick across the low back and with the exhale softening, really allowing the weight of the body, the weight of the bones to drop and yield towards the earth. And easy through the jaw. Would it feel like to allow the shape to have a bit more of you? Softening, releasing, surrendering towards the earth.

Last few moments here. Breathing into the shape. Softening through the face, the heart, the belly. You are welcome to stay and linger honoring your timing and you feel ready to slowly begin to round and roll your way. Keeping the gaze soft and inward, pause.

Let's notice how you feel. Being out of that long, passive hold. And supporting your knees with your hands lean back for your legs might feel nice to bring your hands behind you and a little shimmy side to side, freeing the hip joints, the legs, the spine. Coming on up. And then we'll roll on to our back for windshield wipers. You can bring your bolster your blanket off to the side.

Roll on to your back. Bring the feet nice and wide arms overhead and just grews on to the inner outer edges of your feet nice and fluid through the hips, through your spine. You might linger on one side lengthening through the side body. Over to the other side. Few more round side to side.

Might stay with this a bit longer when you feel ready, draw your knees into your chest. Moving into a deeper hip opener. One option is to just come into a simple figure four, bring ankle over knee and draw the knee into the chest. Another option is to rock up. And come into a sleeping swan in the in practice.

You might know this as pigeon, bringing one knee in front of you, the other leg behind, and customize it for your hip and knee joint. You might work with a bolster lengthwise in front of you. You might bring support underneath your right hip. Again, feeling into your outer right hip as you inhale. You might stay right where you are, exhale slowly easing your way forward and in. And as you wanna feel more sensation, checking with a breath, We notice where you can soften and relax any effort.

And you might support the weight of your head with the hands, a prop, You might choose to surrender and release the weight of your head towards the earth. And finding that appropriate edge of sensation, As you find that edge, you might pause. Malal for another inhale, exhale softening, relaxing the jaw. Releasing through the shoulders. If and as it feels safe for your body, you might play with kind of imagining the muscle softening around the bones.

Allowing the bones to drop and yield towards the earth. Breathing into where you feel it. Axale softening, releasing, letting go. Again, if the mind is swirling, whirling busy active, you might tether your attention towards the breath. And every so often you might I have emphasized the exhalation. We'll just see here how the sensation may change.

With time, breath, awareness, gravity, allowing the shape to be a offering towards the earth. Some of the qualities of yin. Stillness, quiet, calm, hidden, dark, inward, feminine, intuitive. Ooner. You are welcome to stay here a bit longer.

As you honor your body, your timing, feel ready. Just find a very slow, safe way out for your hip and knee. And then an easy shape where you can feel and track the flow. So you might roll on to your right hips stretch the left leg out and just carefully free that right leg. It'll take a moment to pause. You might roll on to your back in the shape of Shavasana for a few moments, or maybe a child's pose feels good for your body.

Just an effortless shape where you can feel and begin to track the inner sensation. What are the subtle energy, the subtle currents the yogis call Alana or life force? Let's find a clearing breath. Inhale. From here, you might find a figure four on the second side or rock your way up towards sleeping swan, and the other side. Customize it for your body.

The side most likely feels different depending on your hip and knee, ankle, easing your way in slowly mindfully, can allow for an inhale, exhale softening. Notice what you choose to do with your hands, the weight of your head. Sometimes if you're working with quite a bit of sensation, a little bit of inner movement or oscillation, little inter wobble can help communicate with the nervous system. There's a way out. And then eventually, if an as it feels safe, you might begin to act sales soften, beginning to let the layers soften and melt around the bones, allowing the bones to drop and release towards the earth. And easy in the eyes, the jaw.

Wreathing into where you feel it. And every so often notice what has your attention. Right? Thoughts, swirling around the landscape of the mind, sensations, in the body, be waves of emotions, memories. Often as we slow down and become more still, the inner landscape comes more vibrant, more alive. Become more aware of the inner workings of the mind, the heart.

Might allow for an inhale, exhale softening the jaw. Allow for an inhale, exhale. In honoring your timing. You're welcome to stay longer. When you feel ready, just find a slow safe exit route for your hip and knee, which might be a child's pose, a downward dog, You might roll on to your hips, swing your leg forward and just find an effortless shape.

It might be seated. It might be supine in the shape of Shavasana where you can feel and track the inner waters, the inner flow. The inner streams and rivers within allow for an inhale. Nice full exhale. If you're on your back, you might draw your knees into your chest.

We'll transition and meet in a tabletop for cat cows. So you might roll to your side. You might rock and roll. Find your way. Oops. We come into tabletop.

We'll find some fluid movement in between the long yin posture. So as you spread your fingers wide, we'll, drop the belly lead with the heart, feel your extension here. And as you exhale, curl around, stretch your back, navel to spine, you might draw your hips towards your heels, find an active child stretching the back, and then inhale lead with the heart. Feel your extension. You might soften your gaze inward. Exhale, curl round, stretch, navel to spine. Now lead with the heart moving at your own pace here.

You might stay with cat cow. You might circle your hips your ribs, bringing it up into the shoulder blades and neck. You might tuck your toes under. You might keep your hands where they are. You might play with spinning your fingers towards the edge of the mat.

Or even spinning your fingers towards your knees, wrists away from you, like exploring those sticky spots in the body. Might want some extra attention and energy. You might stay with this a bit longer. If a child's pose would feel good, you might move in that direction. Or if a downward dog would feel good, you might move towards an inversion, tucking your toes under, and just stretching out through the back of your legs.

Taking your time with this as you explore and investigate, giving yourself space and permission to move as you'd like. Eventually, we'll meet in a prone position on the belly. Take your time there. As you lower down, let's meet with the elbows wide, forehead on the hands. I'm just allowing the weight of your bones to drop here.

Now you might stay right here where you might return to this position. When you feel ready, who arise up to sphinx pose, coming on to the forearms. Let's start with an active sphinx. So we didn't know what that feels like. So just in the active sphinx, feel how you can draw your chest forward.

Draw your heart forward. Feeling that traction through the spine. Kneeling that engagement. And then exhale relaxing the effort through the spine, relaxing the belly, relaxing the effort through the buttocks, the legs. Now as we ease into a more passive in backbend, notice what you choose to do with your neck and your head.

You might keep your head where it is. You might support the weight of your head. By bringing a block under your forehead, or you might choose to surrender and release the weight of your head towards the earth. Nice. Full exhale softening the face, the jaw. Now in a passively in backbend, it's common to feel a little bit dull pooling of pressure wide across the low back, just above the sacrum.

Right? So this is a characteristic of a passively in backbend. As a practitioner of yoga, kinda discerning between that. Feel good, curious, stretchy sensation versus anything that might feel painful, wrong, and a hot poking, in which case you'd wanna come out of the shape, find a bit more support, can allow for another exhale option to stay in sphinx for another minute. Let your elbows go wide. Rest your forehead to your hands.

Come out of the shape. Our option to begin to explore the shape of seal, where the palms turn out. The arms straighten. See, we play with dropping into the shoulders a little bit here. Now the further the hands are away from you, it tends to bring the feeling more into the thoracic spine in the back. If and as you walk your hands and closer towards your pelvis, that tends to bring the feeling, the sensation more into the lumbar spine, more into the low back.

So again, as a practitioner, you're discerning between sensations, listening inwardly for guidance. Allow for another exhale. Really trusting the feeling. No feeling is a pathway to truth. If you're up in seal, you might stay here a bit longer.

Are you giving yourself permission to explore, investigate? When you feel ready to transition, you might lower into sphinx, taking a moment to pause. And then as you feel ready to fully release, let the elbows go wide and just melt your forehead onto your hands. Beautiful. You might rest in stillness. Might shimmy your hips a little bit side to side.

You might bend your knees in reverse windshield wiper the legs. Side to side. I'm really finding a counter pose that feels good for your body. So you might round and press back towards a child's pose, if that would feel good, or maybe you're rolling onto your back and drawing your knees into your chest. Taking a few moments here, breathing into the back body. Really nourishing the kidneys.

You are welcome to stay right where you are. When you feel ready, you might join me in a caterpillar. Stretching the legs out, finding a symmetrical shape option to bring a bolster underneath or a blanket underneath your sitting bones. We'll inhale together and then exhale just slowly begin to round your spine. We'll be here for just about a minute or so.

To really let the extension go and let your back round, right, in the interest of stretching the connective tissue, feeling that big stretch in the back body, running all the way up the spine into the neck. As you soften your gaze in word, just feeling into the inner sensation rather than what the shape might look like. Softening for the mouth, the tongue, the throat. Oh, it is the quality through the hands. Well, most likely the whole back of the body, back of the legs and spine Eels. Kinda dull and achy. Warm.

You are welcome to stay longer when you feel ready. Slowly round your way up. Oh, taking a moment to pause and notice. From here, we'll roll on to our back for a a spinal twist. From here, it might be nice to work with a bolster or a blanket as you draw your left knee into your chest We'll bring the bolster blanket on the right side of the body as we come into a one legged twist. So first, just start by drawing the left knee and stretch your right leg long.

You might take a few breaths here into the low back. Just a sweet, simple way to stretch and release the lower back. Inhale, and then exhale spinal twist to the right, bringing that left knee across. And maybe the left knee ankle rests on the bolster blanket, finding that ease in the neck and softening the belly. Letting it feel very spacious in between the eyebrows and the base of the skull.

Again, noticing how the sensation changes with time, breath, awareness. Anything into where you feel it. You are welcome to stay here longer. You're ready. Just slowly unwind. Lead with your top leg.

Stretch the leg out long. Take a moment to pause. Bringing your bolster, your blanket over to the left side. I'm drawing your right knee into your chest. Take a moment here.

Might take a breath into the back body. Now as you're ready exhale, bring the right knee across the body towards the bolster, the Alana, stretching the right arm out, one legged twist, inhale to lengthen. Exhale softening the belly. Let's find a place where the neck feels good. And spinal twists were increasing circulation, blood flow.

Lymph flow, flow of subtle energy, prana. We're stoking the, you know, the fire of digestion. So you might even feel or ear the sounds coming from within, like I do. And as you breathe into where you feel it exhale notice where you can soften, settling, dropping, releasing, letting go. You're welcome to stay longer.

Just slowly begin to unwind, lead with the top leg. From here, you might draw both knees into your chest. And then as a final shape, you might find a happy baby reaching out for the feet. Little side to side rocking might feel really nice. Neil your shoulder blades releasing down.

If your head is dropping back, you might tuck a blanket or a bolster under your head. Taking your time with this as you feel ready, you might draw your knees into your chest. I'm stretching out for Shavasana. Maybe bringing your bolster underneath your knees or a blanket. Or if you'd like to close with a seat, you might roll up.

Keeping your gaze soft and inward. As you rest in the space you've cultivated, Through your practice. Feeling the calm, quiet inner waters. Really resting in the depths of the South. Allow for an inhale.

Exale. Are you staying with your experience? Nava stay? Thank you.