Morning Centering and Gentle Stretch | Accessible Yoga

Hello and welcome,

This is Laia.

Today I want to share with you a short yoga practice that you can do in the morning right after you wake up or at any point in your day when you want to just create gentle movement in your physical body that can help you realign your energy,

Bring more clarity and focus to your mind and simply give yourself a moment of presence.

I know you may be thinking how are we going to do this if we cannot see each other but I invite you to give this a try to not only follow the guidance of my voice but to actually trust your intuition and your body and your energy to move you in the way that truly serves you.

So go ahead and find a comfortable seated position maybe on the ground or on your bed or on a chair and give yourself a moment to make yourself as comfy as you can.

Utilize any supports beneath you and around you that you would like like cushions or pillows.

And eventually ground through your sit bones,

Lengthen your spine,

Let your shoulders relax down and away from your ears,

Your neck get a little bit longer as the crown of your head reaches up toward the sky.

Take a deep breath in through your nose allowing your belly,

Your rib cage and your chest to expand.

Sigh it out through your nose or your mouth.

Two more times like that following your own rhythm of breath inhale through your nose,

Expand front to back,

Side to side,

Top to bottom.

Let it go out through your mouth.

One more cycle inhale and exhale.

If it resonates with you bring both hands over your heart one over the other.

Just take a moment to connect to yourself.

Notice how your physical body feels.

Any tightness,

Discomfort,

Tension,

Pain.

See if you can let yourself soften 2% or 5% more.

Deep breath in,

Sigh it out.

Release your hands back down toward your lap or your knees.

Notice the support beneath you as your spine gets a little bit longer and clench your jaw,

Soften the muscles of your eyes,

Your forehead.

Inhale lift your chin just a bit open through the throat front of the neck.

Exhale lower your chin down toward your chest.

Inhale lift your chin up open through the throat.

Exhale lower your chin back down.

Open the back of the neck.

Perhaps your eyes start to open,

Perhaps they stay closed.

One more round inhale lift your chin,

Exhale lower it down.

Bring your neck back to neutral.

Notice the length,

Soften through the shoulders.

Inhale here,

Exhale take your gaze over your right shoulder.

Draw your left shoulder back gently.

Back through center,

Inhale,

Exhale gaze over your left shoulder.

Notice the sensation perhaps you draw your right shoulder back just a bit more.

Back through center,

Inhale here,

Exhale completely.

Take both arms out and up,

Inhale.

Reach your arms to the side,

Circle them up,

Unite your palms overhead.

Your elbows can be bent or extended,

Notice the sensation in your shoulders and on your exhalation draw your palms together in front of your heart.

Let your shoulders relax a bit more.

Release your arms by your sides,

Relax your shoulders.

Two more times inhale reach your arms out and up overhead.

Find extension through the side body all the way up through your fingertips.

Unite your palms,

Exhale draw your hands together in front of your heart.

Feel your fingertips connected,

The palms of your hands connected.

Release your hands back down one more time,

Inhale reach your arms out and up.

Exhale hands together in front of your heart.

Release your hands back down to what your knees.

Find length through your spine,

Inhale,

Exhale bring your right ear toward the right shoulder.

Open up to the left side of your neck.

Notice the sensation and stay.

If you want more sensation through the left side of the neck,

Extend your left arm out to the side.

Stay with your breath,

Observe the sensations.

One more inhale and exhale.

Bring your hand back down,

Bring your neck back to neutral.

Notice how you feel deep breath in,

Exhale take your left ear to the left shoulder.

Notice the sensation of opening in the right side of the neck.

Maybe you stay,

Maybe you extend your right arm out.

Breathe.

One more inhale and exhale.

Bring your hand back down,

Bring your neck back to neutral.

Inhale,

Lift both shoulders up toward your ears.

Maybe make fists with your hands.

Squeeze the fists,

Squeeze the arms,

Shoulders,

Squeeze the muscles of your face.

Notice what other part of your body you can tighten right now.

Squeeze and tighten,

Tighten,

Tighten.

And on your exhalation let it all go.

Feel free to do that one or two more times.

As you inhale you squeeze everything you can think of,

Creating a little bit of tightness.

And on your exhalation you let it all go.

Perhaps that feels complete,

Perhaps you do one more.

Either way,

Inhale,

Open your mouth,

Exhale.

Let yourself relax another 2% or another 5%.

Inhale,

Take both arms all the way up overhead.

Lengthen through the sides of the body.

Notice any tension arising on your shoulders.

Soften your elbows a bit.

And on your exhalation start to take your left hand toward your right knee.

And your right hand can be planted behind you.

Notice first the length in the spine.

Inhale.

And on your exhalation perhaps you let yourself twist toward the right a little more.

Always keeping the length of the spine and making the breath more important than the depth of the twist.

Take a couple more breaths here.

Last one.

Inhale.

And exhale.

Bring your hands back to the center.

Bring your torso to neutral.

Notice how you feel.

Deep breath in.

And on your exhalation take your right hand toward your left leg.

Perhaps you're there and you're like that feels like enough.

Stay there.

Otherwise your left fingertips come behind you as well.

Inhale to lengthen.

Exhale twist toward the left as little or as much as you would like.

Observe the spiral of energy from your tailbone to the crown of the head.

Stay with your breath.

Inhale.

And exhale.

Come back through center.

Draw your knees toward one another.

If you were seated cross-legged or if you were seated in any other way just give yourself a moment to stretch out your legs.

To shake out the shape that you've been seated in.

Perhaps you bring your knees toward your chest and you give yourself a hug.

Feel free to move a little bit side to side.

Breathe.

One more breath.

Inhale.

And exhale.

Now however you'd like begin to roll either one ankle or both.

Perhaps both ankles go the same direction.

Perhaps they go opposite directions.

Maybe you choose to do the right ankle first and then the left.

Again can you consider that there is absolutely no right or wrong way to do this.

Only your own way.

What feels good right now do that.

No more no less.

Stay with your breath.

Let everything else be secondary.

One more breath.

Inhale.

Now on your exhalation slow down any movement.

Notice how you feel.

Find a comfortable seated position once again.

Maybe you sit the same way you did before.

Maybe you sit differently.

Perhaps you choose to lie down for a few moments on the ground or on your bed.

Stretch yourself out if you'd like.

Yawn if you'd like.

Deep breath in.

And on your exhalation find stillness once again.

Observe how you feel in your body just after a few moments of intentional movement and intentional breath.

Take a deep breath in.

Fill up your lungs entirely or as much as you can in this moment.

Hold the breath within.

Fully let it go.

Bring your palms together in front of your heart.

Bow your head in gratitude for this day and for your opportunity to live it,

To explore,

To be just as you are in your body,

In your mind and in your spirit.

Inhale deeply.

Exhale completely.

We'll seal this practice with an Aum.

Feel free to either join me or listen.

Take a deep breath in.

Aum.

Shanti,

Shanti,

Shanti.

Peace in your body,

Your mind and your spirit.

May you have a beautiful day.

Thank you for practicing with me.