Morning Yin

Good morning. I am Tamika, and today we are going to create spaciousness all over the body, especially in those areas that feel really kind of sticky first thing in the morning. As we are in our aging bodies, which is such a blessing, we can wake up with a little tightness in certain areas. And so I want to really create some opportunities to feel better, lighter, and get rid of any achiness that you may be experiencing right now. We're going to start in tadpole, and I'm going to be incorporating the strap and the bolster to give us various opportunities for support throughout the practice. Some, this tadpole, which is a wide meat child's pose.

Oftentimes, we just go straight to the mat. But if we bring in the bolster, We can create some arm extension as well beginning to open up, along the side bodies. So fill into this tadpole as you begin settling in, feel free to take your time, making your way down. And if you do bring the bolster in, you can bring it right underneath your forehead. Throughout this practice, I want to give you opportunities to listen to yourself more.

And so you may notice longer periods of silence to allow for you to spend some quality time nurturing yourself. Feel free to widen your knees apart a little bit more or to collect them more underneath the body, bring them closer together. To really find a supportive shape where you might feel sensations in the groin or the inner thighs. Be in extending the length of your exhale. Take an inhale for as long as feels good.

Acts hell a little longer. Do that again this time adding a tiny pause at the top of your inhale and stretch out your exhale a little longer. And do that again. At the top of the inhale, hold for as long as it feels right. As you exhale, really extend the exhalation, creating a lot of spaciousness after your exhale.

Deep and your breath. Release, stabilize by pressing in through your arms. And you can even keep that bolster where it is, extend your legs back for sphinx pose. Tuck your toes to stretch the legs out as far as you'd like for them to go today. You can bring the bolster underneath the chest for a little more support.

And bring your arms out in front of you with elbows bent. Now, any of these poses you can do with or without the bolster. But if you'd like to lean into a little more support today, these are great opportunities to do less. As you exhale allow for your chin to drift towards your chest, or you can leave your neck more neutral. Like, of any holding in the seat, gripping, in the glutes, and widening your feet apart might feel more supportive, especially on the back first thing in the morning.

Oh, if this feels too restful, you can always bring the bolster closer in, which will then increase the back bent, or you can scoot up a little bit more. But whatever you choose for yourself, find stillness. If things have gotten less interesting, feel free to press into your hands to come up to seal And you can keep the bolster underneath your chest for that awareness and a little bit of support here. Don't forget that you can always change your mind, come back to sphinx. This is simply an exploration of what your back wants this morning.

Deep in your breath? And release, move the bolster now. And we can actually place this on the side to prepare for our next shape. But for now, come all the way down. Releasing all of that backbending.

Stay here or take a moment in child's pose, but eventually make your way back to an upright position. We're gonna use our strap for this next shape. Maybe you need it. Maybe you just want it. Both are valid.

And for me, it depends on the day. Which of those answers is true. To get your strap ready, you can thread your strap and create a tightness that ends up being like a w for your arms or creating a w shape with your arms. Now you may want less or more of this, and this is completely optional. We're going into cap holding its tail, which is a back bending twist.

The strap is going to come around the foot that you would normally the tail that you would normally pull. But because this first thing in the morning, we're doing less. I'm gonna put this strap around my foot. So the strap on my left side, the strap is around the left foot and the right shoulder. Right knee.

See that bolster. We earlier placed. Keep rolling, rolling, rolling onto the floor. Eventually bringing your shoulders to your floor. Everyone has a different experience with this particular shape. And depending on the time of day and what your body is asking for needing, desiring, this can be a really problematic pose or one that feels awesome.

The way to come into neutrality around this pose is to use more support. So the bolster underneath the right knee is creating less tension in the back and the strap around the left foot relieves your knee to have to grab your foot and hold on to it. Feel free to adjust any of these things so that you are in more of a twist and backbend that you can appreciate. If you're using the strap, remove it from your shoulder. Otherwise, let your foot go with your hand.

Just take a moment here to come on to your side, keeping the knee on the bolster. And release, release in any way that feels good. I like to come up just to change my orientation just a bit. And then also to bring the bolster onto the other side. And they'll switch sides and feet.

So we'll use the strap on the other side again, and you may need to open. I like to open a little bit so that I can start from the beginning. I don't know what's gonna happen on the other side. So we'll see. And bring the strap around your right foot this time.

Step the left foot through, left leg through, place it onto the bolster, and it is the right foot left shoulder or hand. I'm tightened to the degree that makes sense. Remember to soften the shoulders towards the mat? The shoulders may not ever land on the mat, much less first thing in the morning. So feel free to exist where you are and to find the shape that feels right for you today in this now body.

To increase more sensations, you can bring the right foot back a little bit more and or tighten your strap. Be mindful of your skin. Deepen your breath. Move the strap from the shoulder or let your foot go. And roll onto your side.

And make your way back up to release. Waterfall is where we're going next. And, essentially, it's viparita Karani, legs up the wall, but we're gonna use the bolster. And we'll use this strap again. So you can bring your, bolster, set it up wherever you feel comfortable. And since we're doing less, You can just sit on it and roll all the way down.

Have your strap nearby. Make any tiny adjustments that make the shape better for you. And bring your knees in towards the body. Strap around your feet. Let your elbows be heavy, shoulders heavy into the floor.

Fill for the connection between your sacrum and the bolster, the support of the floor underneath your shoulders. And defend your imagination, imagining all of the the blessings and the love and the care and the calm and beauty and peace that you plan to send out into the world coming into you. And through your feet and along your legs. Behind and around your knees. Calm peace and love hugging around your thighs.

Compassion and support underneath the hips. Softness and care for the low back, sweetness around your heart. And shoulders, peace, love, and calm around your neck, and the back of your head. And this can be your Shivasana, if you'd like. This can be how you end, or you can move the bolster out of the way, and bring it underneath your knees or move it entirely.

Whatever it is that you need for yourself, go ahead and give it to yourself now and take a few more moments for you. Feel free to stay here for as long as you can, nurturing yourself, bringing yourself more energy, love, compassion, and feeling that you'll carry into the rest of your day. Oam shanty shanty shanty. Peace. Peace. Peace.