Exhale: Yin For The Spine & Back Body

00:30

00:30

Exhale: Yin For The Spine & Back Body

by Maryam Vahedi

Type

guided

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

The breath that releases. This practice works with letting go: softening the spine, emptying what's full, and settling into the ease that lives at the end of things. We'll move through long, folded holds across the back body, with kidney and bladder meridian work and a quality of surrender that doesn't ask for effort. Expect a slow, grounding hour that lets the nervous system downshift and leaves you lighter than you arrived. Props are optional but welcome if you have them: a block, bolster, or pillow to support the folds and help you settle deeper without strain. No prior experience needed. Please do not listen to this deeply relaxing practice while driving or operating machinery.

Relaxation Breathwork Mindfulness Body Scan Grounding Spine Health Nervous System Surrender Beginner Friendly Cleansing Breaths Child Pose Shavasana Mindful Movement Self Compassion

Meet your Teacher

Hubbards, NS, Canada

Meet your Teacher

Hubbards, NS, Canada

Transcript

Let's begin to arrive here. Allowing your body to settle. Allowing your mat to hold you. I'm really starting to let go. Let go of the day so far. Let go of. . . Anything you're holding onto in your body, In your mind. And then start to bring your awareness to your breath. Just noticing. How your breath feels today without trying to change it. Notice the length of your inhales. Your exhales. Notice if your breath is fast or slow. Deep or shallow. Our breathing exercise today is focused on the exhale, So really lengthening the exhale Before that, Bring awareness to your body. Let's do a scan from the crown of your head all the way down to your toes. Just notice if there's any part of your body that's maybe a little tight or sore that may need a little bit more love during practice. And just being mindful of that. So if anything I say during practice doesn't feel right for you, Please don't do it. Come out of the pose and take a resting posture. That works for you. And then join me when you're ready. During this practice, We will be holding poses for a few minutes at a time. So when you're holding a pose and staying still there. Just make sure. That you're not holding any sharp pain or discomfort, Making sure that your body is comfortable and safe at all times. Starting with a few cleansing breaths. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Then open your mouth and slowly, Quietly, Sigh it out, Let it go. You Good, Two more like that. Deep inhale through your nose. Then exhale through the mouth and see if you can soften and let go of your body. Feeling really heavy on the mat as you exhale. And last one like that, Deep inhale through your nose. And exhale slowly let everything go now we're going to breathe in and out of your nose if that feels comfortable or you can breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth if that feels better for you. We're going to focus on lengthening the exhales. So we're going to try to. . . Exhale twice as long as our inhale. So you can count. And move at your own pace, But think about counting your inhales. Before. And then pause at the top. Just for a moment before you exhale. For a count of eight. How fast or slow you go depends on how you feel today, But I'll count the first few and then you can adjust. The pace for yourself. So starting for an inhale, Four. Breathe. Too. One pause. And exhale, Release. 7. Bye. Boi Great. Cheers. Four okay inhale for four 5. And exhale for eight Inhale for four. Pause at the top and exhale for eight. Good, Now breathe like this at your own pace. Just trying to lengthen your exhales. Twice as long as your inhales, So counting quietly in your mind. And focusing on really lengthening the exhales. Inhaling for four. You pausing at the top and exhaling for eight. You Do a few more rounds just like that. Notice that your mind wanders or you lose track of counting. That's completely okay. Just come back your next inhale. Counting for pausing it, It's fine. And exhaling, Breathe. Now do one more. Let's finish your last one. And then take a deep breath in through your nose. And exhale, Draw slowly through the nose, Let it go. Slowly start to bring some movement back to your body. Moving your fingers, Your toes. Bring your big toes together point your toes now. Extend your arms overhead. Lengthen your body. Stretch like you're waking up for the first time today. And then when you're ready bend one knee and then the other and roll onto your left side in a fetal position using your bottom arm as a pillow. And pause there for. . . A few moments, Just noticing your breath. Noticing the body. When you're ready, Push yourself up to a comfortable seat. Sitting with your spine tall. Your neck straight. Thank you for watching Parallels of the Mind. And just pause here. Roll your shoulders up towards your ears, Down your back. Just do a scan. Your body. Your mind and your breath. And notice any differences from now in the beginning of the practice. When you're ready we're going to move into our first yin posture, We're going to move into child's pose. For child's pose, We're just gonna bring your knees. Mat distance apart. Your big toes together. And just sit back on your heels. You're going to lower your upper body onto the mat or on a prop so if you have a pillow you can bring your pillow in front of you, You can use blocks to lift up the pillow if you need that. And just gently lower your upper body down Onto your prop so it may feel good to just come all the way down to the mat I'm Just notice how it feels today. So your body feels different day to day. So maybe last time you practiced yin or went into child's pose you didn't need a prop. But today you do and just listen to what your body needs right now. Wherever you are, Allow your forehead to rest on something. So either on your prop, Your pillow, Your block. Or all the way down. To your mind. Your arms can extend forward or by your side. You can Allow your elbows to rest on the mat. Just making sure your shoulders are soft away from your ears. And find me a place where. . . Your spine is comfortable. And long. And your body feels supported and heavy on the mat. So if this doesn't feel right anywhere in your body, Especially your knees, Your lower back, Your shoulders, Make adjustments, Use props. You may have your hips lifted a little bit more if that feels better in your knees. It. So taking a few moments to really get settled. We're going to be here for about About seven minutes, So it's a pretty long hold. So just making sure that you're comfortable. Finding a place where You can breathe comfortably. And you can allow your body to stay in stillness and allow gravity to pull your body towards the mat. When you find your pose. Just do a final scan and notice if is any part of your body that you're holding on to that you can soften and let go of. Maybe it's your jaw. Maybe it's your fingers or toes. Maybe it's your forehead. You can allow your eyes to close gently. Go inwards. And just breathe. Breathing in through the nose. And out through the nose or the mouth. Allowing your awareness to rest. Take a deep breath. And just really letting go of holding on to anything in your body. Pausing here in stillness. And just breathing. If your mind starts to wander. Just really kindly, Gently bring your awareness back to your breath. Without judgment, Without being harsh on yourself. Please come back to your breath. So we've been here for a few minutes now. Just notice if. . . Any sensations in your body. Okay. It started to become stronger. Or maybe you need to make adjustments in this pose so maybe go deeper into child's pose, Removing props. Or maybe you need to back out a little bit. Maybe you're feeling this in your knees or your hips. And you need to move back, Lifting your hips up. When using a prop. Really noticing before making adjustments. And if you decide to. . . Change your pose a little bit. Do it really slowly. Be mindful that your body has been in stillness for a few minutes. Moving slowly and mindfully make adjustments and then come back to stillness Come back to your breath. Come back to this moment right here, Right now. Take a deep breath in. Long balance. You Then slowly start to move out of the pose. Slowly moving your hips up, Moving your props aside. Come to tabletop position, So really moving slowly, Mindfully. Spread your fingers wide, Bring your wrists under your shoulders, Knees underneath your hips. You can feel good to tuck your toes. Welcome to the tops of the feet. And just pause here in tabletop, Pull your belly towards your spine, Look straight down, Shoulders move away from the ears. Just notice. Any sensations in your body after that child's pose. Maybe you feel slight tingling in your legs. A rush of energy in your head. Your spine. Pausing. And then if it feels good, You can make some movements in your body. Figure eights or circles with your hips maybe rounding your spine. In one direction and then the other, Maybe moving through some cat cows. Just really moving slowly. In any direction that feels good in your spine. And then coming back to table when you're ready. Looking straight down. As you inhale, Drop your belly, Open up your heart, Look up, Cow pose. As you exhale, Round your back, Tuck your tail, Look down, Cat pose. Good, Inhale to drop your belly, Open up your heart, Look up. As you exhale, Tuck your toes, Push your hips up and back, Move to downward facing dog. Good. So this is our one and only downward dog in this practice. So you decide if you want to Stay in stillness. Maybe bend one knee and then the other Rocking your hips from side to side, Maybe walking your feet wider and then closer. Any movement that feels right. If you're staying in stillness, You can have your knees bent along. And really push your hips up towards the ceiling. Allow your head to be heavy. Maybe nod your head yes, Shake your head no. It. And then when you've had enough, Slowly bring your knees back down to the mat. And then walk your knees forward, Cross your ankle. And sit back. Into a seat. Into your hips sitting back maybe bringing a folded up blanket or a pillow under your hips just to tilt your hips forward a little bit so you can really lengthen your spine so sitting tall Allow your hands to rest somewhere on your body. And again, Just pause here noticing how your body feels. You We're going to come into. . . A seated forward fold or caterpillar as it's called in yin. So you're going to extend your legs long and just bring your feet together or your feet can be hip distance apart so when you move into the pose you can make adjustments if you need to. When we move into this pose in other styles of yoga we usually flex our feet. In this one you're just going to let your feet be soft. You and you can decide how you want to fall forward. So you may want to bring something underneath if you have a pillow. If you don't, You can even have your knees bent. So we want to make sure that when we move into the pose, We move with a long spine. And then round our back when we find a place where we can't fold forward anymore. So you may bring a bolster pillow under your knees. You may have your knees bent. And then allowing the forehead to rest on something. So grabbing, Block. Or maybe using your hands to rest your forehead on. So you can always bring your palms together. And allow your forehead to rest. On your thumbs. Or if you have blocks, You can bring blocks in front of you and allow your forehead to rest on blocks. So again, Taking a few moments here to find a place where you feel comfortable in this forward fold. So be really mindful of how this feels in the back of your legs. In your lower back. And in your shoulders. Making sure that wherever you are, Your neck, As comfortable your head is supported. And heavy. And you're not feeling any sharp pain or sharp pulling. Anywhere in your body. Allow your hands to rest gently. Inside or on top of your legs. Allow your shoulders to be soft, Away from the ears. You And when you're done making adjustments and when you find your version of this pose, And you find your edge. Is come to stillness. You can. Soften your gaze or close your eyes if that feels good. And starting to go inward, Starting to come back to your breath. Noticing your inhales. And your exhales. Noticing if there's any part of your body that you're holding onto. And then see if you can let go with the next exhale soften and let go Fourfolds are a symbol of Reflection and going inward. And so as you hold this pose you may notice that thought. Feelings, Emotions start to come up. And when they do, Know that that's completely normal. It's completely natural. Just notice what comes up. Without trying to hold on to it, Without attaching. And continuing the conversation in your head. See if you can gently set it aside and bring your awareness back to your breath. Back to the physical sensation of your breath. Feeling the next inhale in your body. And feeling the next exhale as it leaves. Noticing your body expand as you breathe in. And soften and let go as you breathe out. We've been here for few minutes now. So you may notice that you're feeling this a little bit more in the backs of your legs. Maybe in the back. Your spine. You're feeling a deeper stretch in your body. And you may want to back out a little bit. Where you may notice that you can go a little bit deeper into the fourfold. So try it out, See how it feels. If it doesn't feel right, Just back out. As we hold poses in the end. And let go of holding onto our muscles. The deeper tissues, The fascia, The ligaments holding the joints, The joints themselves. These starts. Stretching and expanding and letting go and opening up. And you may notice that the pose looks completely different from the beginning. To the end. And that's what the practice is. Take a few more breaths. And stillness. Take a deep breath in. And a long breath out. One more like that, Deep inhale. Full and complete exhale, Let it go. Now really slowly start to walk your hands back. Your hips and start to roll up your spine really slowly. And just pause. Notice. If there's a rush of energy to your head, You can just pause here, Keep your eyes closed. His hand. By your side or on your legs. You Take a deep breath in through your nose. Open your mouth, Sigh it out. Now slowly move your palms. Have fun. And bend your knees. Bring your knees. Mat distance apart, Bring your hands behind you, Fingertips pointing forward or backward, Whatever feels good in your shoulders. And then just gently. Windshield wiper your knees from side to side. And from here we're going to come to. . . What's called deer pose in yin. So we're going to start with the right shin in front. So bring your right shin. Parallel to I have it short edge of my rainbow mat. And you're going to bring your left shin parallel to the other edge of your mat. So you're making like a 90 degree angle with your left shin. Your legs, So right shin in front. Left shin beside you and just adjust your left foot. It may feel good to have it flexed or it may feel good to come to the top of the left foot. So wherever you are, Just make sure you're comfortable seated. So it may feel good to sit on top of a pillow For me, It feels better to just be on a mat. So make adjustments, Make sure your knees are comfortable. And make sure that your hips are grounded. If having this knee bent doesn't feel right, You can always extend your leg. So finding a place where and you're comfortable here and you get to turn your torso towards your front so your right knee We're going to turn your torso towards that knee and just walk your hands forward. So we're coming on to our right side, Bringing our upper body onto the right thigh and It may feel good to bring a pillow or bolster blocks in front of that leg and just allow your body to rest. On your prop. Maybe turning your head to one side or the other. So taking a few moments again here to get settled, Get comfortable. Moving your props, Adjusting your props, This should feel really good in your back and your shoulders. And it should feel really good in your hips. And you really shouldn't feel it in your knees. So making sure that your knees are completely comfortable. And cycle. So taking a few moments here to get comfortable. You can turn your head to whichever side feels better in your neck. And then when you find. . . Your version of the pose. Just come to stillness. Pausing here. We're not going to be here for too long. Just see if there's any part of your body that you can soften. Maybe you're still. . . Holding on to your hips. Let's see if he can let go Maybe. . . You're holding yourself up. With the muscles of your back. Let's see if you can really soften and allow your upper body to rest allowing gravity to pull you towards your max. Soften your gaze, Close your eyes, Come back to your breath. Deep breath in. Exhale all the air out. It slowly start to come out of the pose. Sitting up. You can maybe come to an easy twist towards the left side if that feels You can bring your right hand behind you and lift your hips up if that feels good. And then when you're ready. Moving to the second side, Bringing your left shin in front. And your right shin by the side. So again, Taking a few moments to make adjustments on this side. And on this side, Maybe it feels better to sit on pillow or folded a blanket. It may feel good to flex your foot or come to the top of the foot. This side it feels better for me to flex my foot. So don't expect it to look the same just make adjustments Then when you're ready, Turn your torso towards your left thigh and just bring your body down to wherever feels comfortable. So maybe you have a blanket, Maybe you have Pillow couple blocks or maybe you're just on top of your thigh. And bring your forehead down to the mat. So wherever you are, Take a few moments to get settled. And comfortable. Make sure your shoulders are soft, Your head is resting on something. You can turn your head to either side depending on what feels better in your neck. And again, Check your body. It should feel really good in your back, In your hips. Hello. Shouldn't feel any pain or discomfort, Especially in your knees or shoulders. And when you found your spot where you can stay in stillness. Just pause and breathe. Soften your gaze, Soften your jaw, Soften your forehead. Take a deep breath in. Exhale let it go and then really slowly start to come out of the pose. Walking your hands towards you, Sitting up. And then maybe twisting to the right. Really slowly, Gently. You'll be bringing your left hand behind you, You'll lift your hips up. Good and then when you're ready bring your knees in front of you walk your feet sorry bend your knees bring your feet in front of you walk your feet towards you give yourself a hug it, Bringing your forehead to your knees. Thank your body for everything it does for you. For all the poses on and off the mat. When you're ready, Make your way to your back. So, Finding. . . A reclined position on your back. You can Bring your head on a pillow, Fold it up like it, Lift your hips up. Hips forward and just bring your lower back on the mat. You can have your knees bent to start. Bring your hands somewhere on your body. Take a deep breath in through your nose. And open your mouth, Exhale and really let go. Let's do one more like that. Deep inhale through your nose. Exhale through the mouth, Sigh it out. We're going to come into a supine twist. So to start, You can extend your right leg long and hug your left knee into your chest, Just giving yourself a hug, Maybe moving your knee a little bit side to side, Making circles. And then when you're ready, You're gonna bring your right hand to the outside of the left knee and cross your knee towards the right side, Coming into a supine twist here. And if you're like me, Your knee is probably not going to reach the mat without lifting your left shoulder. If that's the case, Make sure you have a proper and you can have your knee and your leg resting on a prop. So you can really ground your shoulders, Both shoulders grounded. Your arms can be in a T. You can come to cactus arms if that feels good. You can extend your left leg long or keep your knee bent. So taking a few moments to find a supine twist here this should feel really good in your spine after those forward folds Just being really mindful. Maybe turn your head to the left if that feels good in your neck. Soften your gaze or close your eyes. And breathe. See if you can really lengthen your exhales. Slowly. Start to come out of the pause. And then bend both knees, Feet flat on the mat, Just pause with your back. Grounded. You When you're ready, Extend the left leg long. Hug the right knee in and just making any movements with your knees that feel good. And then when you're ready, Bring your left hand to the outside of your knee. You're going to cross your knee towards the left side. Bringing your knee on top of the prop making sure your shoulders are grounded you can have your leg extended long keep your knee bent Maybe turn your head to the right side if that feels good in your neck. Just breathing into the twists on the sides. How this feels in your body. I'm noticing if there's any part of your body that needs softening. Like, Comment, And subscribe. Slowly start to come out of the bowl. And then bend both knees feet flat on the mat pause here. For a breath or two. When you're ready, You can hug your knees in, Maybe gently rocking from side to side, Massaging your lower back. Maybe making circles with your knees in one direction and then the other. You can extend your legs up. Just coming to an easy inversion here for a breath or two. You can point, Flex your feet. You can come to happy baby if that's in your practice, Grabbing the backs of your thighs or the outer edges of your feet. Any other posture that feels right in your body. Take that. Then when you've had enough Make your way to Shavasana. Finding peace. Your version of Shavasana. Finding a place where you can really rest. Maybe bringing a bolster, Pillow. Under your knees. Grounding your hips and your shoulders, Allowing your spine to rest comfortably on the mat. You can bring a pillow or folded up blanket under your head. Keep your arms resting by your side, Palms face up, Fingers gently curled in. Soften your jaw. Allow your tongue to fall away from the roof of your mouth. Soften the muscles of the face, Your eyelids, Allowing your eyes to gently close. And then scan your body from the crown of your head all the way down. To your fingers and your toes. Notice if there's any part of your body that you can solve and then let go just a little bit more to get comfortable here. Allow your body to rest. And breathe naturally. Take in the effects of your practice. Let's make it work. And a long breath out. You one more just like that, Deep inhale. Full and complete exhale. Slowly it's time to bring some more fat back to your body Moving your fingers, Your toes. Your wrists, Your ankles. Maybe gently rocking your head from side to side. When you're ready, Being mindful of your props, Bend one knee and then the other. And roll on to your right side in a fetal position. Using your bottom arm as a pillow. The poodle pose after Corp's pose reminds us that after every ending there is a new beginning. And slowly start to push yourself up. To a comfortable seat. Sitting with your spine tall. Your neck straight, Chin curled off to the back. Soften your gaze or close your eyes. Bring your hands by your side, Inhale, Reach all the way up and touch your forehead. Exhale, Bring your hands to your heart center, Bow your head to your hands. And thank yourself for coming to your mat today. To spending this time for yourself. For your practice. For your grass. Bring your thumbs to your third eye, A space between your eyebrows. May your thoughts be kind. Thumbs to your lips. May your words be caring. Thumbs to your heart center. May your heart be filled with love and gratitude. Thank you for practicing with me today. Namaste.