This 30 minute class uses the wall to help you fully release your lower back. Let stress and tension melt away and feel fully supported with the help of the wall and floor. Each pose allows you time to deeply connect with your breath and body. Slow down, lay down and get ready to unravel.
Meet your Teacher
Greensboro, NC, USA
Transcript
So this will be a wall yin practice. So what you will need is a wall. You might also find it useful if you have props the same size, Same height. You might want to use them at some point in time to slide them underneath the hips. You can gather those around you if you need them. I won't be working with any props today, So this is a practice that can definitely be done without props as long as you have a wall. And that's it, So we're gonna start seated, Nice couple deep breaths just to ground ourselves to wherever you are. You can sit freely, You can also sit on props, A blanket, A block if that feels good, And you can use the wall as your prop to start off. So I'm gonna do that, I'm gonna draw myself all the way nice and tall against the wall here. This practice is great because you don't even really need a mat, So it can be done really in any room, Any space, Anywhere, As long as there's a wall there for you. I'll start with my legs crossed in Sukhasana, But other options are that butterfly shape. You move the feet forward, Knees soften, And again, Feet can widen. Some of you will prefer just the legs to kind of flop long. Good, So wherever you want to be, Gather yourself in, Give yourself a couple moments, Rock a little side to side, A few shoulder rolls, And then go ahead and land yourself on that wall. The skull should touch the wall lightly. You should feel the shoulder blades. They don't need to press into the wall by any means. That usually pushes the ribcage forward. But it's a light tap of the shoulder blades there. All the backs of the ribs are gonna land towards the wall. You have a soft curve in your neck. You have a soft curve in your low back. And then you should really wanna feel the back of the pelvis. So that's above the butt, That bony structure, That's your pelvis. Settle that up against the wall. Good, Eyes can blink closed if that makes you feel comfy or just a soft gaze down so the neck stays long. Good, Let's take a nice big breath in, Sit up a little bit taller. Open your mouth, Big exhale. One more like that, Big full breath in, Tallest seat you've got. Open mouth sigh. Gently seal your lips, Breathe in through your nose. Out of your nose, Soft breath out. Good, So as always, Your mouth is there as a backup, So if your nose is stuffy, You're welcome to use your mouth, But if you can, Breath in through your nose. Breath out through your nose. Let's let the arms land so the palms face down either onto your legs or the earth. Letting go of any tension in the body, Feeling a little more connected inside into the breath. And keep your breath moving rich and deep in. Slow and soft out. Good, Let's do a few breaths together to slow the nervous system even more. Take a big breath in. And then a big breath out. We'll breathe in for a count of four, Three, Two, One, Pause. Breathe out for six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Pause. Breathe in for four, Three, Two, One, Pause. Breathe out for six, Five, Four, 3, 2, 1, Pause. Breathe in for 4, 3, 2, 1, Pause. Breathe out for 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Pause. Full breath in, Full breath out. Good, Go ahead and blink your eyes open. Give yourself a moment to release your legs, A little unbend, A little wiggle, A little shake. Good, And then we'll work our way so our legs are up the wall. The easiest way I have found to do this is to sit sideways along the wall. So nook yourself up all the way up sideways so you're seated there and then you're gonna lay down on that side that's away from the wall. When you lay down in that little fetal position, You're then going to take your butt, Your glutes, And scoot it all the way up to the wall. So scoot, Scoot, Scoot. And once you feel your glutes get really close or touch the wall, You'll roll yourself over onto your back. Then you'll have to negotiate a little bit here or there. We really want the soft tissue of the glutes to land on the wall. Some of us will have a baseboard there so it can land on the baseboard. That works out really nicely. Take a moment, Roll your ankles, Wiggle your toes. Good, And then we're gonna head into a reclined wall butterfly. So the soles of your feet will touch, Knees will drop open any amount. So for some of you, Your feet will drop really close to the body like mine already have. And for some of us, The feet will be quite a bit higher up and that is fine. No need to push the feet together, They can kind of peel apart a little bit. And for some of you, They might wander apart just a bit. This is a great place where if you have two blocks, Same size, Same height, They would slide in underneath the thighs there for a little bit of rest. You want the legs to release their work. So the legs are jello-y and soft. Feet can fall down as far as they need. Arms go wide, Palms face up. Press a little into your skull, Lift your shoulders, Crawl them down. Let the chest spread out, The jaw unhinges, And maybe the eyes blink closed. And then just allow yourself to land in this practice. Often when we start laying on our back, We push our ribs up, We're getting pretty active in the body. See if you could let that soften a little bit more. Good. Let the breath just move. Let the body just slow down. Check in, You're just about halfway through your first longer hold. So notice how the body is reacting. Are there places you need to shift or adjust? Maybe widening the feet, Maybe lifting them slightly or letting them sink even deeper. Maybe even more importantly, Check in with that mind of yours. Often when the body gets still, The mind gets particularly busy. That's its job, Right? It's processing, It's rolling through information. But see if maybe we can let those thoughts soften a bit. Maybe even dissipate. Melt away and the sound of your breath becomes even more important. You imagine moving your breath into the areas that might feel tight, Maybe in the outer hips, Maybe in the inner thigh and groin, Maybe through the low spine, Imagining that each exhale, The low spine is getting wider and then sinking deeper into the earth. Lots of space in the chest, Maybe the shoulder blades nudge apart a bit. Jaw softens again, Breath deepens. And let everything settle back into the rhythm of your breath. Take a full breath in here. Big soft sigh out. A little wiggle of your toes. You can use your hands to help you. Start to draw your knees towards each other. Most of us will have to start extending the legs up to get them all the way in, And then let those legs go long. Take a moment. You can shift them away from the wall. Bend a little in the knees. A little rock in the pelvis might feel nice. Good, Then you're gonna land with your feet flat on the wall and how high up your hips and low back are gonna dictate that. Good, Point your toes out away from you and the knees will start to follow. Then go ahead and walk your feet as far away from each other as you can. Knees will stay bent and feet flat-ish on the wall. For some of you, They might peel up a little bit. I know for me, More the pinky toe side stays on, The big toe side lifts up and a little bit of the heels on the wall. Again, Your legs might be wider, They might be closer together. Thighs sink towards the belly or towards the outer ribs, Nice deep crease in the hips here. And notice the pelvis and the low back really want to lift up. So if you step your feet into the wall, You could lift your hips up, But we want to sink them down. So let go of any of the work in the legs there, Let gravity take over. This is also another lovely place. If you have two blocks or two props, Same size, Same density, You can slide them in underneath those outer thighs or outer hips for a little extra support. Can rest down on your belly as always, Or arms can go wide and long. Let your shoulders just slide down your back here, A little rock of your chin, And then let everything settle. And this sequence in general is targeting the hips. So you're probably getting a lot of feedback, Maybe from the body, Maybe from the mind about what's happening in those hips of yours. Remember, You are never stuck. Little wiggles and adjustments can go a long way. Soak in breath, Soak in softening that busy mind. Good, You're well over halfway through. Take a moment, If the legs are starting to open, Maybe you move the feet a bit wider, A bit farther away. Maybe you shift the props if you're using them higher or lower for more or less sensation. And if you are looking for less sensation, Your hands can help you draw your legs in and towards each other a little bit more. Knees come a bit more neutral rather than so wide. And then let yourself resettle to the place that feels good to you. And melt back in. And see if the breath can get even bigger, Even wider as time passes. Good, Full deep breath in here. Big soft sigh out. And let your hands help you slowly, Gently ease your legs in. Good, Extend them up the wall, Give them a moment here. Wiggle the toes, Roll the ankles, Maybe cross one leg over one side and then back over the other side. Little reaches towards the ceiling. Let the body just soften here. Good, And allow your legs to land up the wall. We'll be here just for a moment to neutralize the pelvis. So about a hip bone width distance in your legs. Back of the pelvis lands fully on the ground. Most of us will have a soft bend in the knees. A lot of people, The legs roll out lightly. That's normal. They might also be pretty parallel. And for some of you, They might drop in. All of that is fine. Give yourself just a few rounds of breath here to feel the whole back of the pelvis sink a little heavier into the ground. Really feel the connection. Of the backs of the ribs, The backs of the shoulder blades, The backs of the skull on the earth. Good. One more full, Deep breath in. Big soft sigh out. Good. From here, Gently bend your knees, Plant your feet on the wall. So how far down the legs come, The hips and the low back will have something to say about that. If you can walk your heels down in line with your knees, That's a great starting place. I noticed the lower my feet go, The more my pelvis wants to lift up. And our goal is to keep that pelvis down. So in order to do that and be able to breathe comfortably, I'm gonna have to nudge myself a little bit away from the wall. So a little inch where I'm away from the wall. So my whole pelvis is comfortable and flat on the ground. It's almost like you're in a chair pose now at the wall. We'll turn this into a thread the needle hip stretch. So right leg stays as it is. You'll cross your left ankle bone over your right thigh. And if you are tight in your hips like me, Your hips are going to lift way up to accommodate that. So keep the cross of the legs. And again, Nudge yourself away from the wall a little bit more. So the whole back of the pelvis drops heavy into the earth. You might notice that the left side has sunk towards the ground. Most of us rock over to the left there, Or you might've done the opposite and rocked over to the right, Though there tends to be more sensation over there on the right. So give yourself a couple really juicy, Soft rocks side to side. Notice where the sweet spot for your stretch is and see if you can let yourself land there. Let go of any tension, Any work that might be in the right leg. For a lot of us, The right leg tends to be pretty high up. See if you can walk it down. So again, The ankle and the right knee are in one line. Arms go wide or rest comfortably on the belly. The tendency will be to rock to the left, So keep drawing a little more energy into the back right pelvis. Don't need to muscle it or hold it. And if you're pretty mobile and you're not feeling any sensation once you've crossed your legs, You're gonna shift your hips even closer to the wall. You can also turn on this left foot, Flex it and make it more stable and press energy through the left heel. We want to find a soft, Breathable place here. Let the head land, Notice if the chin lifted or the shoulder blades, Roll them down. Belly moves freely, Breath flows. Just about halfway through. Do you need any adjustments? Hips can get really chatty when we're working with them. So again, Check in with your mind, Notice the information it's supplying you. If it's helpful, By all means keep it, And if it's not, Just set it down. Let yourself melt back in. Nice full breath in here. Gentle soft sigh out. Good, Slowly release the left leg. Your hands can help if that feels available. Let that leg bend and unbend a bit and then set it towards the wall. Right leg gets a chance to bend and unbend. And we'll shift into the other side. Right ankle is going to cross over your left thigh. This side might be more open. It also might be tighter. So give yourself those rocks and notice. If crossing the right leg, You don't feel much sensation in the right outer hip. You need to shift a little closer to the wall. And if you've crossed over and then the hips lifted and everything feels really stuck and tight, You're gonna shift away from the wall. Right, So for more sensation, You nudge yourself towards the wall. For less, You shift yourself away from the wall. Gentle rock side to side will help you find that sweet spot. You can play around with flexing the right foot or softening it. And we're attempting to get that left ankle somewhat in line of that left knee. Palms can rest on the belly for some of us that feels more comfy or arms go wide. Take a moment to adjust the neck, The shoulder blades offer a little more space, Maybe a rock of your chin. And then allow yourself just to settle in. You're already at your halfway mark. Remind yourself that sides can be different. We're not comparing one to the other. We're just noticing the sensation. The sensation might be a little more or a little less. If you're anything like me, This right side is quite a bit tighter. But allow it just to be as it is, Adjust as you need, And then let yourself resettle. Good, Nice full breath in. Big soft sigh out. And let your hands help you unravel the right leg. Let it extend, Bend, Straighten, Left leg gets a chance as well. And then maybe both legs, Toes, Ankles, Knees. Then as you're ready, Knees into your belly, Gentle little rocks from side to side. And we'll land ourselves on our left side in a really soft fetal position. Depending on how close you are to the wall, You might want to use the wall to help you with that fetal position. Letting the feet land on the wall. For some of us, Tucking in like that feels more comfortable. And for some of you, You'll want to shift away from the wall to give the legs a little bit more space. And then let yourself land here, A place to ground, To seal in. Take a nice big breath in, Seal in whatever you want to keep with you from this practice. Gentle soft sigh out, Release anything that got in the way. As you're ready, Right hand will draw you up to a nice tall seat. Take your time. And we'll come back to that seat we started our practice in. So maybe legs cross, Maybe they were extended. Let your spine lengthen long along the wall. Palms face down to ground, Or if you wanna borrow a little energy from the space around you, Just take a really full breath in here. Big sigh out. Move your hands into your heart space, Sit up a little bit taller. Exhale your chin towards your chest and a moment of gratitude for all that work you just did. In the body, In the mind. The slowing down, The listening, The being patient is no easy task. And as always, A moment of gratitude for yourself. For who you are, For all you do. You trust that it is enough. Because you yourself are enough. Namaste. As always, Thank you all for joining me and I will see you soon.
