As we begin this mindful movement practice of lying down yoga exercises,
Taking a moment to check in with the state of your body as it is right now,
Acknowledging any areas of injury or vulnerability,
And setting the intention for this to be a nourishing time for self-care and attention to your body.
In this practice,
The most important thing is simply bringing our bodies and our minds and the capacity to feel and know,
Using all of our senses,
Including the mind,
And the choices we make about what movements we engage in and how long to hold a posture.
Simply considering yourself to be the authority.
You know your body best.
So if there's anything that is suggested in the following instructions,
If it seems like it might not be good for your body,
Feeling free to modify or adjust in any way.
And you can always choose to find a resting posture and simply follow the instructions in your mind's eye.
Working with the body in stillness,
In the imagination,
Can very much be a mindfulness practice as you imagine your body engaging in the movements,
Different postures,
While your body remains still.
And whether you're moving or not,
Watching the reactions and the activities of your mind,
Particularly letting go of any judgmental or striving or critical thoughts.
The yoga we'll be practicing in this recording emphasizes doing the movements slowly and really acknowledging that the best way to gain anything is through a non-striving attitude.
So we'll be approaching our current limits with gentleness and learning how to find our way just up to the boundaries of these limits rather than trying to push through them.
And noticing the reactions of the body and mind,
Noticing impatience or boredom if they arise and equally fully enjoying any moments of ease and pleasant experiences during the practice.
So beginning this lying down practice by coming to lie on your back,
On the floor if that's comfortable for you.
And as you come to rest here,
Turning your attention to the sense of your whole body lying here,
Coming in contact with the sense of your body where it's resting on the floor,
The points of contact,
Feeling the weight of your body.
And taking some time right now to simply be with the body breathing,
Becoming aware of the breath as it moves your body.
In particular,
Bringing your attention to the area of the abdomen where the diaphragm naturally moves the belly as it facilitates the breath coming into the body and the breath flowing out of the body.
Just beginning with a few intentionally deeper inhales and exhales.
And then just letting the breath be natural just as it is,
Feeling just this in-breath,
Just this out-breath,
Belly expanding,
Belly sinking down towards the back,
Towards the floor as your body can just let go and sink into the floor more fully.
And for the first movement,
Beginning with the arms alongside your body with your palms facing up towards the ceiling,
The legs outstretched,
And on an in-breath beginning to stretch the arms out overhead slowly until your hands reach the floor overhead.
And as your arms reach the floor,
Stretching out your whole body and feeling the stretch throughout all the joints,
From the fingers through the elbows and shoulders,
The ribs,
The abdomen and pelvis,
Through the legs and knees,
All the way down to the ankles and the feet.
Maybe stretching one side and the other side.
And then on an out-breath beginning to allow the arms to come back down,
Slowly allowing the arms to come back down towards the floor beside your body.
And as they make contact with the floor and the muscles,
Can let go,
Sensing that release in the muscles.
And coming back to feeling the breath in your belly.
And on an out-breath,
Bending your knees so that they point up towards the ceiling and placing your feet flat on the floor.
And we'll do some pelvic tilts now.
So beginning the pelvic tilt by flattening the lower back against the floor and noticing how the pelvis tilts up towards the head as the lower back flattens on the floor.
And then releasing the lower back from the floor and the pelvis can tilt downwards towards the feet as the lower back creates a curve away from the floor.
And slowly continuing this rocking motion of the pelvis in your own time without lifting the buttocks off the floor,
But just rocking the pelvis and allowing the lower back to flatten against the floor and to be released from the floor.
And then allowing the pelvis to come to stillness.
And on an out-breath,
Bringing your knees towards your chest,
Clasping your hands under the backs of your thighs or over your shins if that's okay for you.
And gently bringing your legs towards your chest,
Gently squeezing,
Perhaps rocking a little from side to side if you wish.
And you might wish to bring your head up towards your knees.
Just rocking a little from side to side if that's okay for you.
And then bringing the head back down towards the floor if it's been raised and stretching out the left leg,
Releasing it towards the floor and continuing to hold the right leg towards your chest,
Letting the left leg simply rest flat on the floor.
And if you notice any tension or more intense sensations,
Breathing with those sensations,
Perhaps allowing any tension that can flow out,
Flow out if possible on the out-breath.
And if your head has been raised towards your knee,
Beginning to let your head come down,
Releasing the right leg to the floor,
Maybe just taking a moment just to feel the right leg and the left leg.
And then when you're ready to,
On an out-breath,
Bringing your left knee towards your chest,
Letting the right leg rest on the floor and gently squeezing the left knee towards the chest,
Bringing your head up towards your knee if you wish to.
And simply feeling the sensations here,
Noticing the edges of the boundaries of this posture for you.
Not pushing past them,
But just coming right up to them,
Feeling the breath,
Feeling the body,
Noticing what your body's telling you about where your limits are and when to back off.
And if it's possible for you,
Maybe staying here a little longer at your limit and then releasing the leg and stretching out flat in the corpse pose,
Lying with the palms facing up if that's okay,
And just simply breathing and noticing how your body feels,
The area of the back,
The pelvis,
The legs.
And we'll shift position now,
Rolling onto hands and knees on all fours and paying attention to how you get there and allowing your back to be level.
And we'll begin by doing some cat stretches.
There's really two postures here.
So the first one,
Beginning on an inhale,
Allowing your belly to sink down towards the floor as you look up towards the ceiling.
And then on an exhale,
Allowing the head to come down and the chin to come down towards the chest as you look through your legs,
Back arches up.
And then beginning on an inhale,
Letting the head come up,
Looking up towards the ceiling and the belly sinks down towards the floor.
And on an exhale,
Allowing the head and chin to come down towards the chest and the back to arch up towards the ceiling.
And just continuing in your own time,
Alternating these two postures,
Allowing the breath to be natural with the movement.
Aware of how the shoulders feel and the wrists and hands and forearms and knees.
And then coming back to the starting position with the back flat and beginning a balancing position on an out breath,
Lifting the left leg out back and stretching the right arm out front when you're ready so that you're balancing on your left hand and your right knee.
And breathing,
Maybe noticing some wobbliness,
Feeling the muscles working,
Perhaps feeling the weight of the arm and the leg.
And when you're ready to,
Bringing the leg back down,
Bringing the hand back down,
Pausing for a moment,
And then lifting the right leg out back.
And when you're ready to,
Stretching the left arm out,
Balancing,
Feeling the muscles working,
Perhaps noticing the impulse in the mind to shift out of the posture.
And then just when you're ready to,
Bringing the leg down,
Bringing the hand down,
Returning to all fours.
And then sitting back on your heels,
Moving into the child's pose,
Bending the upper body forward at the waist,
And reaching out with the arms and the hands,
Stretching out in front of you and perhaps your forehead reaches the floor.
And if you'd like to,
You could instead bring your arms together and rest your head on your arms.
And seeing if you can relax into this position,
Noticing if there's anything holding that doesn't need to.
Noticing how the breath is in this posture.
And when you're ready to,
Slowly coming back up and returning to the lying posture on your back.
Being aware through these transitions,
Feeling the breath as it moves through you,
The rise and the fall of the belly.
Noticing the effect on your breath and your heart rate as you come to rest here.
Paying close attention to just how you're feeling right now,
Bringing this kind of alert,
Curious attention.
And bringing your knees towards your chest again,
Using your hands to bring your legs closer.
Bringing your head up towards your knees if you'd like to.
Perhaps rocking a little side to side.
Being sensitive,
Caring for your body,
Noticing what feels right for you in this moment.
And releasing the legs if you haven't already and returning to lying flat on your back once again.
Breathing fully,
Feeling the fullness of the breath and how the body feels.
The hands,
The arms,
The back and the neck.
And bringing your arms out to stretch out by your sides so that they're parallel with your shoulders.
And now bringing the knees up towards your chest,
Allowing them to pause there for a moment.
And from this position we'll move into a twisting posture.
And so breathing in and allowing your knees to turn towards the left.
And at the same time turning your head to the right.
Bringing the feet and the knees together and allowing gravity and the flexibility of your body to allow your body to shift into this posture.
And just seeing where you end up.
Feeling the stretch in the rib cage,
The pelvis,
Breathing with this posture.
And paying attention to how your body feels.
And when you're ready beginning to raise your knees back towards the center and then turning your head towards the center.
And then on an out breath allowing the knees to fall towards the right.
And the head towards the left,
Looking out over the left arm.
And feeling the stretch on this side.
Maybe you notice one side feels more flexible than the other.
Just an observation.
And just perhaps noticing as you continue to engage in these postures over time how this changes.
And bringing the knees back up to center and the head to center and stretching out back into the corpse posture.
And allowing your body to rest in the floor.
Allowing the floor to bear your weight.
Feeling the breath.
Noticing how the breath changes from being in movement to stillness.
And allowing yourself to feel just how you're feeling right now.
Not worrying about the next posture.
Just noticing how you're feeling right now in stillness in this position.
And now breathing in and breathing out and drawing up the left leg so that the knee is bent and facing towards the ceiling and the foot is flat on the floor beside the right knee.
And now beginning to raise that straight straightened right leg up towards the ceiling.
Perhaps the sole of the foot now points towards the ceiling or noticing wherever your leg ends up depending on your flexibility.
And just noticing how this feels.
What's working?
The muscles in the abdomen,
The thigh.
Maybe some vibration,
Maybe the mind saying it would like to move now out of this posture and just seeing if it would be okay to stay just a few more moments.
Feeling the weight of the leg.
And on an out breath,
Letting the leg slowly float down towards the floor,
Staying in touch with the feeling of the leg all the way down and when it reaches the floor,
Feeling the sense of the muscles letting go.
And just feeling the breath,
Feeling the body resting here.
And extending the left leg now and bending the right knee and placing the right foot flat on the floor beside the left leg.
And then when you're ready to,
Breathing in and on an out breath,
Raising the left leg and stretching it up so that the left foot is pointing up towards the ceiling.
And paying attention to the muscles that are working in the leg and abdomen.
Feeling with these sensations.
And then slowly on an out breath,
Allowing the leg to slowly come down towards the floor and being present as the leg reaches the floor and the muscles can let go.
Feeling the right leg now.
And just taking a few moments now to just pay attention to the abdomen.
Feeling the breath moving through this area.
Feeling the whole body lying here in this moment resting.
Noticing how you feel in the body and what the state of the mind is,
Whether it's calm or agitated,
Happy or sad,
Just how it is right now.
And now we'll shift once again to rolling onto the right side and just really paying attention as you turn your body and resting on the right side using the hand or the arm to rest your head on and the legs outstretched.
And using the left hand to stabilize you against the floor.
Moving in and then on an out breath raising the left leg up towards the ceiling,
Doing a side leg lift.
Noticing the muscles that are working.
Maybe even using your hand to feel the muscles in the buttock,
In the thigh.
Staying with the sensations,
Maybe bringing the leg up a little bit higher if that's possible without forcing.
Breathing with the sensations,
Maybe rolling the foot around at the ankle in one direction and in the opposite direction,
Feeling sensations with movement.
Maybe noticing the impulse to lower the leg and staying in touch as you begin to lower the left leg down towards the right leg slowly and staying in contact with the feeling of release as the legs meet one another.
Breathing in,
Breathing out and rolling over onto your left side now.
Noticing the body as it's moving.
And taking the same position,
Resting the head against the hand or the arm and the legs outstretched.
If your balance needs it,
Maybe just letting the knees be slightly bent and breathing in and on an out breath,
Raising the right leg up towards the ceiling in a side leg lift.
And just seeing how high your leg can comfortably go.
Just what tells you that is the edge of your limitation.
Feeling the sensations,
The wobbliness,
Paying attention to the sensations,
Maybe rotating the foot around at the ankle.
And when you're ready to,
Gently,
Slowly allowing the right leg to come down towards the left leg and feeling the release of the muscles as they can let go.
And now shifting position again and rolling onto our bellies.
Rolling over and resting on the side of your face,
Allowing the body to rest,
Sinking into the floor and feeling the way that the belly presses against the floor as you inhale.
And just releases slightly from the floor as you breathe out.
This different sense of the breath in the belly,
In this posture.
And now bringing your arms to your sides and placing your forehead against the floor and raising the right leg up,
Maybe just slightly,
Just a few inches off the floor and feeling the muscles that are working.
Noticing what muscles don't need to be working,
Like the muscles in your face.
And then slowly bringing the right leg down.
And when you're ready to,
Raising the left leg,
Just noticing the sensations in the left leg that's working and the right leg.
And when you're ready to,
Slowly bringing the left leg back down and resting here with your head resting on the side,
Feeling the breath,
Feeling the areas that were just working.
Allowing the floor to hold you with gravity.
Feeling the breath,
Feeling the body.
And now once again bringing the arms to your sides,
Resting your forehead on the floor.
And beginning to gently,
Slowly raise the head off the floor and tilting the neck slightly back and allowing the upper back to roll back so that the upper chest comes off the floor.
And looking up towards the ceiling with your eyes.
And feeling the muscles working in the back.
Noticing the legs.
Are the legs working or are they relaxed?
Breathing,
Allowing the breath to be natural.
Noticing how long it feels okay for you to hold this.
And then perhaps beginning on an out-breath,
Starting with the back,
Letting the vertebrae roll back down,
The neck and the head coming back down and resting once again on the side of your face.
Noticing how the breath is now.
And if you'd like to maybe try that one more time.
So bringing the forehead to the floor and then beginning to lift the head off the floor,
Just slightly tilting the neck and bringing the upper back off,
The chest off the floor.
And just going as far as it's comfortable for you.
Seeing what's right for your body right now and coming just up to that edge and breathing.
Breathing with the sensations in the back,
In the neck.
And then on an out-breath,
Slowly releasing the posture,
Rolling back down to the floor.
Resting on the side of your face.
Breathing.
Sensing just how it is in your body after having done these movements.
Senses in the neck,
In the back,
In the legs.
And then changing posture once again and slowly rolling back over onto your back.
And just paying attention to just how you get from your stomach onto your back.
And so here we are once again.
Lying on our backs.
Arms stretched out by your sides.
Legs outstretched.
Breathing.
Noticing where the mind is.
If it's thinking about the past or the future,
Coming back to the present moment.
Sensing just how it is right now.
How it is in the body.
How it is in the mind.
And maybe taking a few moments just to scan more systematically through the body.
Beginning with the top of the head.
Feeling the crown of the head.
The head where it's resting against the floor.
Feeling the weight of the head.
Feeling into the face.
All the muscles that can just be at rest right now.
Noticing how your own face feels right now.
Feeling into the throat and the neck.
The tops of the shoulders,
The shoulder blades.
All the way down the arms.
Through the elbows and wrists into the fingers.
Feeling into the front of the body,
The torso,
The chest,
And the rib cage,
The abdomen.
Feeling the breath moving here.
Feeling the back where it's making contact with the floor,
The upper back,
And the shoulder blades,
The lower back,
The sacrum resting against the floor and the pelvis,
The entire pelvic region.
The hip joints.
And moving down into the legs,
The thighs,
The knees,
And the calves and shins.
And down into the ankles and the feet.
All the way down to the tips of the toes.
And expanding your attention once again to the sense of the whole body resting here,
Breathing.
Resting in relative stillness.
Just noticing the state of the body,
Areas of discomfort perhaps,
Areas of ease,
Sense of stillness,
Sense of movement.
See all of that in different parts and from moment to moment.
And noticing the mental state right now,
The degree of calm or agitation in the mind,
Presence of thoughts,
Including some image of the body in the mind,
Thoughts,
Stories about the past or the future,
The state of happiness or sadness,
Excitement or irritation,
Calm,
Equanimity,
Whatever it is,
Just noticing the state of the mind and how it might be changing just even throughout this practice from moment to moment.
And acknowledging the entirety of your experience in the body and the mind.
Starting with just what's here for you right now.
And perhaps offering yourself some acknowledgement for taking this time to attend to yourself in this way to nurture your health and your well-being through this kind of close attention.
And if you'd like to,
Perhaps setting an intention for how you wish to carry forward this practice into your daily life,
This awareness of the body.
And so just taking these last moments now to rest in this awareness of this living,
Breathing body,
Just as it is,
Just as you are.
Transcribed by Quintin mosquito
