Gentle Yoga Warm Up B - #1 Of A 4 Part Series

This will be a warm-up practice.

You can use this at the beginning of your yoga practice or on its own,

Whatever feels best to you.

So you'll need your mat,

Maybe a strap,

And maybe a blanket if you like to have a little bit of support under your head.

So let's lay down.

And come into constructive rest.

So you might position your head on a blanket.

Knees are bent,

Feet flat on your mat,

About hip distance apart.

Arms by your side.

And just pause here for a moment.

Notice your breath.

This is a very relaxing position and is great for the low back as well as just inviting the iliopsoas to relax.

And then you can come into a relaxed position.

And then bend one knee towards your chest.

I'm starting with my right knee.

And hold your knee with both hands.

You can straighten your other leg out if you would like or keep it bent.

And then rotate your right ankle or whichever foot you're starting with.

Notice how that feels.

And notice which direction you're going.

And then reverse direction.

And then just relax your left arm by your side and hold your right knee with your right hand.

Move your right knee out a little to the right and then back across your body.

Inhale,

Move the knee out and exhale,

Bring it back.

Notice how this feels in your hip joint.

And you don't have to go real far.

And then start to make a circle with that right knee.

Notice which direction you're going.

And try to keep your sacrum on the mat.

So you don't have to go real far here.

And then reverse direction.

And then release.

Let that right foot come back to the mat.

And your left knee if that leg was straight.

So you're starting again in constructive rest.

And then straighten your right leg up to the sky.

Point and flex through your foot.

Getting a little different action in the ankle.

You might feel the hamstrings start to activate.

And then relax the ankle.

And just start to draw that right leg towards your head.

You can hold the leg with your hands maybe on the thigh or behind your calf.

Or if you prefer,

You might use a strap around your right foot and draw that leg towards your head.

Our hamstrings are usually pretty tight.

Make sure you're not forcing anything.

Just hold this position in a way that it feels like you're getting a good stretch without overdoing it.

A couple more breaths here.

And then relax and release.

If you're using a strap,

Set it aside.

Straighten both legs out on your mat.

And notice difference between left and right.

Notice if your right leg feels any maybe longer,

Higher or lower in space.

Just notice what you're feeling.

And then bend both knees again,

Feet flat on the mat,

And draw your left knee towards your chest.

Hold it with both hands and straighten your right leg out if that feels comfortable for you.

And rotate your left ankle.

Notice how this ankle feels.

And then reverse direction.

And then relax your right arm by your side.

Holding your left knee with your left hand,

Relax the ankle.

And then take your left knee out to the left as you inhale.

And exhale,

Bring the knee back up.

Inhale,

Take your leg out to the left.

And exhale,

Bring it back.

Notice how your hip joint feels.

And now circles.

So use your left hand on your knee as if you're drawing circles with your knee.

They might be small circles or big circles.

Notice which direction you're going.

And then reverse direction.

Just relax the lower leg.

And release.

Straighten your left leg up to the sky as you re-bend the right knee.

Right foot flat on the mat.

And point and flex your left ankle.

Relaxing the toes to the sky and then flexing the toes towards the earth.

And then relax the movement of the foot.

Either use your strap or just your hands and draw your left leg towards your head.

Option to straighten the right leg out if you prefer,

But if hamstrings are tight,

It might feel better to keep that right knee bent with the right foot on the mat.

And again,

Hold where it makes sense to you.

Make sure the shoulders are comfortable.

Notice how this stretch feels.

Is it any different than the first side?

And again,

Make sure you're not forcing anything.

And it's totally fine to have that leg bent a little bit as you're drawing it towards you.

Especially if your hamstrings are really tight.

And then release.

Straighten both legs out on your mat and pause.

Hopefully both legs feel about the same.

Notice sensation.

And then bend your knees again.

Come back to constructive rest.

And we're going to do one that helps the knees warm up a little bit as well as a little bit into the abdominals.

So bend your knees about 90 degrees and lift your feet up,

Bringing your knees over your hips.

Arms by your side.

And we're going to just keep our upper body on the mat and flex and point your feet.

And then imagine you're pedaling a bicycle.

So you're using your feet as well as your legs as if you're riding a bike.

So you're pointing and flexing through the feet as your legs are pedaling a bike.

Go slowly here and engage your core slightly.

So as you straighten your leg,

You're pushing through the ball of your foot.

And as you're bringing the foot back,

You're flexing the toes towards the shin.

It should feel pretty much as if you were riding a bike.

And you might start to feel tired in your hips or legs.

That's okay.

Take a break if you need to.

Little more here.

And then re-bend the knees towards your chest.

Give yourself a little hug.

And then roll over to one side or the other.

Press yourself up to a seat.

Pause for a moment.

Notice how you feel.

And then transition into table pose.

Come to hands and knees.

Knees about hip distance apart.

Wrists about shoulder distance,

Maybe slightly wider.

Press gently into your hands.

Broaden the upper back.

Lengthen through your spine.

And then inhale.

Draw your heart forward.

Arch into your cow.

Exhale.

Draw the belly in.

Look to your knees for cat.

Continue moving in your cat cow.

Move with your breath.

Inhale cow.

Exhale cat.

Notice how your spine feels.

And bring yourself to a seat.

You might sit on a blanket or other prop so that your hips are a little bit higher than the knees.

Just make sure your knees are happy.

And we'll come into a few side bends.

So first take an inhale.

Reach your arms out and up as you inhale.

And then as you exhale,

Bring your hands down to your heart.

And then inhale.

Open your arms wide and lower your right hand down beside you.

Inhale lengthen through your left side.

And as you exhale,

Side bend over to your right.

Notice how this feels.

You might look straight ahead.

You might lift your gaze or you might release your neck and look down.

Notice your breath.

On your next inhale,

Come back up to center,

Arms parallel to your mat.

And exhale,

Lower your left hand down.

Inhale,

Lengthen through your right side.

And exhale over to your left.

Again,

Choose your gaze.

Notice how this feels.

On your next inhale,

Come back up right.

And exhale,

Lower your hands by your side.

And then bend your elbows,

Either hands on top of your shoulders or wherever they make sense to you.

Start to roll your shoulders.

Notice which direction you're going.

And notice how your shoulders feel.

Or maybe even sound.

And then reverse direction.

And then release.

Shake your hands and arms out.

Pause for a moment.

Notice how you feel.

Then we'll get into the neck a little bit.

Take an inhale,

Look up slightly.

And exhale,

Lower your chin,

Looking down.

Inhale,

Lift your gaze,

Lifting the chin slightly.

And exhale,

Looking down,

Lower the chin.

Inhale straight ahead.

And then exhale,

Turn your head and look to your right.

Inhale slowly,

Bring your head to center.

And exhale,

Turn your head to your left.

Inhale come back to center.

And exhale,

Lower your chin towards your chest.

And then slowly,

As you inhale,

Take right ear towards the right shoulder.

And exhale,

Chin to chest.

And on your inhale,

Take your left ear to your left shoulder.

And again,

Exhale,

Chin to chest.

Two more times on each side.

Inhale right ear to right shoulder.

Exhale to center.

And inhale over to your left.

Move with your breath.

One more time on each side.

And when you finish,

Exhale,

Chin to chest.

And then inhale your head back up to neutral.

Maybe shrug your shoulders a little bit and then lower them down,

Release,

Whatever would feel good.

So that is our brief warmup for today.

Feel free to continue on with your yoga practice or any of the other recordings here.

And always listen to your body.

Have a beautiful rest of your day.

Thank you for joining me.

Namaste.