This gentle, accessible yoga flow stays low to the mat. It lengthens the hamstrings with our "yoga bicycle" sequence, relaxes the low back, and breathes space into the side body. Perfect for when you need a calming practice to reset and rejuvenate.
Meet your Teacher
Montana, USA
Transcript
Welcome. Come onto your back, Relaxing completely into the mat beneath you. Arms palms face up alongside your body, Shoulders down the back and feet gently falling open toward the corners of the room. Begin now to bring all of your attention to your deep even breathing. In through the nose, Out through the nose or mouth. Filling up on your next inhale, And being mindful that your exhalation is slow and controlled. Finding that balance in your breath. The inhalation and the exhalation moving in time with one another. Bring your right hand to your belly, Your left hand to your heart. We'll take a big inhale to the top of the lungs now. Hold it in and exhale slowly let it go. Pause a moment. Inhale belly, Chest and ribs all the way to the top and exhale slowly let it go. Pause here. Inhale fill up with fresh breath all the way to the top of your lungs. Hold it in and exhale slowly let it go. Take a nice big inhale at your own pace and a big exhale. Call to mind your intention for your practice. Breathing into it and then go ahead and make sure your strap is nearby. We're going to draw the right knee into the chest, Interlacing the fingers behind the thigh. Arriving here in wind relieving pose. Inhaling to lengthen through the crown of the head and exhale to soften down the low back. Breathe deeply and then reach for your strap. We're going to place the strap around the ball of the right foot and send that foot all the way up toward the ceiling, One end of the strap in each hand. Pretend you're balancing a book on the sole of the right foot. It should be in the same plane as the floor and the ceiling. Breathe into this long leg keeping a generous bend in the knee if the hamstring is tight. Angling the toes toward the forehead to deepen the stretch. And then on your next exhale slowly lower that straight leg down in front. Inhale draw your knee into your chest and exhale straighten it up. Breathe in and exhale lower your straight leg down. Don't let it touch the mat. Inhale knee to chest. Exhale grow that leg long. Breathe in and exhale slowly lower that leg down in front. Draw the right knee up and into your chest as you inhale and exhale straighten that leg up. Hold here for an inhale and then we're going to reverse. We're going to exhale bend the knee into the chest and then press that foot into the strap as you grow the leg forward and long and then lift your straight leg up and back. Hold here. Breathe in. Exhale knee to chest. Inhale lengthen that leg forward and long. Let it hover. Exhale lift your straight leg up and back. Hold here. Breathe in. Exhale knee to chest. Inhale lengthen that leg forward and long and exhale lift your leg up and back. Now hold and breathe into all of this length that you've created. We're going to bring both ends of the strap now into your right hand. I'm reaching for a block here because you can put a block about an arm's width or an arm's length rather from your hip and then let that leg open to the right. Maybe the leg rests on the block. Maybe it just rests in space with the support of the strap. Take your left arm out in goal post and breathe here into your hip. Close your eyes. Soften your brow and then pressing that foot into the strap take a big inhale lift that leg to center. Bring both ends of the strap in the left hand and lower about six inches to the left. If you want to lower the leg even deeper you can but just check in. See when you start to feel some sensation in the IT band and breathe. Take your right arm out in goal post. Gaze over that shoulder and then lift that right leg back up at center. Bring your head to neutral. Bend the knee into the chest and remove the strap. Plant the right foot on the mat with the knee bent and then send it forward relaxing into all of this length you've created in your right leg. And then take a moment and draw the left knee up and into your chest. Interlace your fingers behind the thigh and just check in here. So continuing to breathe length into your spine and exhale down that low back. Reach for your strap. Place it around the ball of the left foot and on your next inhale straighten that left leg up. Solo the foot pressing toward the ceiling. One end of the strap in each hand. Generous bend in that knee. If you need to bend your right knee here and plant your foot on the mat you can or keep that leg long and straight. Breathe into your long leg and exhale lower it down in front. Inhale, Knee to chest. Exhale, Straighten the leg up. Breathe in. Exhale, Lower your straight leg down. Don't let it touch the mat. Inhale, Knee to chest. Exhale, Straighten the leg. Breathe in. Exhale, Lower that straight leg down. Let it hover. Inhale, Knee to chest. Exhale, Straighten that leg up. Take a breath and we'll reverse. We're going to exhale, Knee to chest. Inhale, Grow that leg forward and long. Exhale, Lift your straight leg up and back. Breathe in. Exhale, Knee to chest. Inhale, Lengthen that leg forward and long. Exhale, Lift your straight leg up and back. Big breath in. And one more time. Exhale, Knee to chest. Inhale, Grow the leg forward and long. Exhale, Lift that straight leg up and back. Now hold here. Breathe into this hamstring. And then we're going to take both ends of the strap in the left hand. Take your block about an arm's length from your hip, Your left hip. Big breath in at center here and exhale. Let that left leg open out to the left. Maybe it rests on that block. Maybe it just rests in space with the support of the strap. But take your right arm out in goal pose to get in. Nice and open through your chest. And let's continue to breathe into this hip. Thinking of guiding the toes toward the left shoulder a little more to move a little deeper into the stretch. Inhale, Lift your straight leg up at center. Grab both ends of the strap in your right hand. Left arm comes out in goal post. And lower that left leg about six inches to the right. Turn your head over your left shoulder. And then if you want to move a little deeper, You're welcome to lower the leg a little more. Breathing into that IT band. Inhale, Lift that leg back up at center. And then bend the knee into the chest. Remove the strap. Lower your left foot down to the mat and lengthen that leg out to meet the right. Relax through your feet. Relax through your heart space. Breathe here. Bend both knees. Plant both feet on the mat. And just gently rock the knees side to side. Massage out that sacrum. Slow it down a little. Using your core as your anchor point. And just giving yourself a little massage here. We're going to move now into a supported bridge pose. So you'll need your blocks. Let's put one in between the thighs. And then your second block is going to go under the sacrum. So walk your heels up a little closer to your sitz bones. Plant your palms. And then gently lift your hips just enough to slide the block under the sacrum at the low position. Arms rest at your sides. Palms face up. Close your eyes. And breathe here. You're welcome to stay here in this shape. We'll move through a couple more bridge variations. And just meet yourself where you are today. If you'd like to move a little deeper, You can lift the hips and move the block like I am here to the medium position. Resting your arms again at your sides. And if you'd like to move to the full expression, Plant your palms on the mat and gently lift the hips up. Lift the chest to the chin and take a beautiful bridge pose. Breathing in. Maintaining that lift on your exhale. And then you can slowly lower your sacrum back to the support of the block. If the block is at the medium position, Take a moment to lower it down to the low position. We all meet here where we started. And then take your time. Rooting into the four corners of your feet to lift your hips just enough to remove the block and lower one vertebrae at a time all the way down the length of your spine. Tailbone connects with the earth and just take a big breath here. Remove the block between your thighs. Bring the soles of your feet together and open your knees wide like a book. Coming into our supta baddha konasana, Reclined cobbler's pose. Right hand to belly, Left hand to heart. And maybe one block under each thigh if you'd like that support. Inhaling through the crown of the head and exhaling through the bowl of the pelvis. Bring your hands now to the outside edges of your thighs, Removing your blocks if you use them, And draw your knees back in together. Hug them up and into your chest and just give yourself a big hug. Wrap your arms around your shins, Draw your nose toward your knees. Maybe circle the knees out here, Massaging the low back. And then we're going to gently roll onto one side and slowly press yourself all the way up. Extend your legs forward in front of you for staff pose. Plant your hands under your shoulders, Fingers point forward. Breathe into your long spine and as you exhale just hinge from the hips. Keep your spine long as you walk your fingers forward. Breathe one more time into all that length and then exhale gently bow. From your belly button, Inhale roll back out the length of your spine and exhale soften and bow. Inhale roll up. Exhale bow. Inhale roll out long spine. Exhale bow. Inhale lengthen out. And this time exhale bow and we're going to hold here. You can keep your hands alongside your legs, Bring them to the shins, Ankles, Or the feet. Continuing to lengthen the crown of the head a little closer to the toes on your inhale and soften your belly closer to your thighs on your exhale. Channeling those micro movements as you breathe. And then on your next inhale lead with your heart gently rise up. Hands come back under the shoulders and then swing the feet to one side or the other and move into your tabletop position. Knees under hips, Hands a little forward of the shoulders, Tops of the feet root into the mat. Find your long spine and inhale drop your belly lift your heart. Exhale round. Inhale open up. Exhale pull up from the belly to round through the spine tuck the tail. Inhale open. Exhale round. Inhale breathe your heart open. Exhale round. This time send the hips all the way back to the heels and arrive in an extended child's pose. If your hips don't come forward, You can do a little bit of a push-up or a little bit of a reach your heels. You can use a block or a cushion underneath the hips. You can also keep the hips over the knees for a half dog. Inhale lift yourself to tabletop, Walk your palms forward, Bring your shoulders over your wrists and exhale bend your elbows and lower to your belly. We're going to take the fingertips a couple inches off the edges of the mat, Elbows toward the ceiling and inhale roll up your spine. Exhale melt down, Rolling cobra here, Belly to the spine, Inhale stack your vertebrae, Roll up. Exhale melt down. Inhale roll up. Exhale melt. And then we're going to bring the hands under the shoulders, Elbows hug in. Inhale lift, Plank on your knees, Keep lifting from the belly to round through the spine. Send the hips to the heels, Extended child's pose. Breathe here. Inhale lift from the belly, Come back to tabletop, Walk the palms forward, Shoulders over wrists. Exhale bend the elbows, Lower to your belly. Inhale shoulders down the back, Lift your heart cobra. Exhale relax down. Inhale cobra. Exhale soften. One more, Inhale cobra. Exhale lower. Inhale plank on the knees, Round through the spine, Hips to heels, Extended child's pose. Third eye to the mat. Deep breaths here. Inhale back to tabletop and one more time walk the palms forwards and the shoulders over the wrists and exhale lower to your belly. This time instead of cobra we're going to move into sphinx pose. Bringing the elbows under the shoulders, Forearms to the earth, And allow your neck to just follow the arc of the spine here. Don't crunch it back. Pull the earth back with your fingertips to help send your heart space forward. Relaxing completely down the low back. You are welcome to stay here at center. Letting your low back release. Or we'll move into a few neck exercises here. Drawing a line with the nose over the right shoulder to start. Breathing down the left side of your neck. And then drawing that line through center and over your left shoulder. Relaxing down the right side of your neck. Bring your head to center now and then keep the shoulders down the back. See if you can just relax the chin down toward the chest. Breathing into the back of the neck and to the side. Down between the shoulders. Lift the head on your next inhale. Let your elbows go wide. Lower all the way down. Forehead to the hands or the earth. Rock your hips side to side a moment. And then plant your hands under your shoulders. Inhale, Lift a plank on the knees. Round through the spine. Hips toward the heels but curl those toes under. And send the hips up and back this time. Moving into your first downward dog. Pedal through the feet. Shake out the head and the neck. And arrive in your dog pose. Ears in line with biceps. Little bend in the knees to help facilitate that lumbar curve. Heels moving toward the earth. And then gently with control, Count to three as you lower your knees back down to the mat. Arriving again in tabletop. And then send the hips all the way back to the heels. Extended child's pose. Third eye to the mat. See if you can exhale into that deep relaxation response moving through the body. And then inhale, Come back to your tabletop. We're going to take the right foot and we're going to turn it out to the side. Send the left leg long on your mat. Toes face the long edge. Left hand to the hip, Right hand under your shoulder. And lift that left arm up for a side plank variation. Lift your gaze toward that hand if that's okay for your neck. And breathe all down that left side body. Rotate from the shoulder. So you're looking up at the palm. Take an inhale and exhale. Extend that bicep along the ear. Sweep the fingers down and inhale. Lift back up, Moving through the shoulder. Exhale, Extend. Look down as the fingers move down. Inhale, Circle up. Exhale, Extend and lengthen. Look down and let that arm circle back up. Exhale, Lengthen, Extend, Circle down and let that hand come to the mat. Return to your tabletop. Walk your palms forward, Shoulders over wrists. Inhale, Exhale, Lower to your belly. Big inhale, Cobra. Exhale, Lower. Inhale, Lift plank on the knees. And we're going to exhale to a half dog. So you'll see I'm backing up a little on my mat. So we bring the hips over the knees. Lengthen the arms forward and let the third eye come to the mat. Maybe you want to put a block under your third eye. I'll demonstrate that here for you. One block at the medium height under your sternum. And the other block at the low position under your third eye. And the other block at the low position under your third eye. Arms can stay in line with the shoulders or open nice and wide toward the corners of the mat. And allow your heart space to melt here. Engage your belly to gently lift yourself back up, Setting aside your blocks if you use them. And we're going to switch sides. We're going to turn the left toes out to the side. And then send the right leg long on the mat. Toes point to the long edge. Left arm under the shoulder. Right arm lifts up. Lift your gaze up. Side plank. Rotate from the shoulder. So you're looking at that palm. Big inhale. And then exhale. Extend that right arm along the ear. Look down as it circles down. And inhale. Circle back up. Exhale. Extend. Lengthen. Circle down. Inhale. Lift up. Exhale. Extend and lengthen. Look down. And follow that arm back up with your gaze. Extend on your exhale. Lower your head. Lower that arm down all the way to the mat this time. Coming back to your tabletop position. Walking the palms forward. Sending shoulders over wrists. And lowering to the belly. Inhale. Cobra. Exhale. Lower. Inhale. Plank on the knees. Pull up from the belly. Send the hips toward the heels. Curl the toes under. And move into your Downward Dog. Adjust. And then settle into stillness. Count to three as you slowly lower your knees to the mat using your core. And then send the hips all the way to the heels. Extended Child's Pose. Breathe here. Inhale. Lift yourself to your tabletop. And we're going to reach the left arm forward and long. And then thread the needle. Send that left hand under the right shoulder. Bringing the left shoulder and the left ear to the mat. You can keep your right palm planted or walk the fingers forward like I am here. Grow long through that arm. You may also want to take a bind where you lift the arm up. And bring the back of the hand to the outside of the left hip. Meet yourself wherever you are. And then we're going to slowly unwind by lifting that left arm all the way up to the ceiling on a big inhale. And then lift the left arm up. Lower the arm down for tabletop. We're going to switch sides. So send the right arm forward as you breathe in. And then gently thread the needle. Left palm can plant. Or maybe you want to extend that arm forward. You can also take the bind. Find a variation where you feel supported. And where you can exhale into this deep opening in the shoulder. This gentle twist in the spine. Slowly coming out of this. On your next inhale, Lift that right arm all the way back up to the ceiling. And then lower that hand down to the mat. Curl your toes under behind you. And then let your hips come back to your heels. So you're sitting on your heels. And every toe, Including your pinky toe, Is curled under. Your hands can rest on your thighs. Or if it's a little much for your feet, Let your hands rest either on blocks or on the mat in front. Let's begin to circle out through the neck here by inhaling. Drawing some circles with the nose. Up, Around, And exhaling as you circle down. Reverse that motion. Being mindful not to crunch the back of the neck. And then just letting the chin rest to the chest for a moment. Before lifting your head. Interlacing your fingers behind your back. And open through your heart. Send that fist to the wall behind you. And open up. Breathe into your heart space. And then release your fist. Hands to the blocks. To the earth. And then lift your hips. Shake your feet out. Swing your feet to one side or the other. And send your legs forward for staff pose. Bend your left knee. Plant your foot inside your right knee or thigh. Sit up nice and tall. And then take the left hand behind you. Lift your right arm up. Big inhale. Twist from your core to your left. Bringing that right elbow either outside the knee. Or if that's a little too deep for your twist, Just wrap the elbow around the knee. And gaze over your left shoulder. Sit up a little taller as you breathe in. And explore your twist as you exhale. On your next exhale, Release through center. Peek over your right shoulder for a little counter twist. And then we're going to let that left knee relax down toward the mat. The foot inside the thigh. Angle your belly button toward your right knee. Sit up tall on your next inhale. And exhale. Gently fold over that leg. Keep your spine long for one more inhale. And exhale, Bow. We're going to roll through the spine. Inhale, Lengthen out. Exhale, Bow. From the belly button, Inhale. Roll out that spine. Exhale, Bow. Inhale, Ripple out. Exhale, Fold. And last one. Inhale, Lengthen out. And exhale, Fold. Now you can walk the hands toward the foot or the ankle. Deepen this fold however you like. And use the breath to move even deeper into the stretch. Now go ahead, Lead with your heart on your next inhale. Rise up. And we're going to adjust the sits bone so that your belly button is facing that left knee. Bring a block inside that right leg if you'd like to use it. We're going to do a side bend. So bring your right forearm onto the block. Palm faces up. Left hand to your hip. Take your gaze up past that shoulder. And then lift that left arm up. Bring the palm to face up. And then reach that arm all the way up and over alongside your ear. And roll those right ribs under the left. So you're getting quite the twist here as you lengthen through the left side body. Inhale, Lift that left arm back up. And exhale, Lower it down. Now we're going to angle the belly button so it's right in between the knees. Bring a block with you if you like. And fold right at that angle. You can put a block under the forearms like I am here. Maybe your forehead reaches a block. You should feel a nice opening in your hip here. Keep that right foot gently flexed. And then lead with your heart on your next inhale. Slowly rise up. And we're going to come all the way back to center. Extend that left leg forward to meet the right. Maybe shake the knees out a moment. And we'll switch sides. Bend the right knee. Plant that foot inside the left knee or thigh. Sit up nice and tall. And then right arm comes behind. Left arm lifts. Big inhale. Twist from your belly to your right. Either wrap that left elbow around the knee. Or tuck it to the outside. And gaze over your right shoulder to bring the twist into the neck. Because as we know, The neck is an extension of our spine. See if you can twist a little deeper. And then use your next exhale to come out of your twist. Take a counter twist. And then let that right knee relax down toward the mat. We're going to move first into our Janu Sirsasana. So sit up nice and tall. Belly button toward that left knee. And then fold. But keep that length in your spine here. Big inhale. And now exhale, Bow. Inhale. Ripple out that spine. Find length. Exhale, Bow. Inhale. Lengthen out. Exhale, Bow. Inhale. Roll out from your belly button. Get long. Exhale. Bow over your leg. Inhale. Lengthen out. And exhale, Bow. Hold your fold now. Hands may come to the foot, The ankle, The shin. And breathe deeply here. Lead with your heart on your inhale to slowly rise up. And then we're going to move into our side bend. So bring that block inside the left leg. Adjust your sits bones so you're facing your right knee. Left arm comes onto that block or onto the mat inside the leg. Palm face up. Right hand to the hip. And then start to lift that right arm up shoulder height. Rotate from the shoulder to bring the palm to face up. And then extend that arm along, Bicep along the ear. This time it's the left ribs that are rolling under the right. So find that beautiful opening through your heart space. And relax into all this length in your side body. Inhaling to come up. And exhaling to lower that arm down. Now adjust your sits bones so your belly button is moving right in between your knees. Sit up tall on your inhale. And then fold forward at that angle. You can stay on your hands. Lower to your forearms. Use a block. Keep your left foot flexed and breathe into your hips. Lead with your heart to rise up on your next breath in. And then we're going to come back to center. Send that right leg forward to meet the left. Shake the knees out. And then bring the tops of the feet to the mat near the front of the mat. Hands plant under your shoulders. Fingers point forward. And then just guide your hips toward your heels. Let them come to the mat. Just bend the elbows gently. You can gently round through the shoulders. Chest toward the chin. And just breathe into the shoulders. Lower onto your forearms. And then all the way onto your back. Reach your arms up and overhead. Grow long. And then lower your arms down at your sides. Now your knees are still bent. Your feet planted. So we're going to go ahead and draw both knees into the chest. And send the legs straight up toward the ceiling. For legs up the wall without the wall. Flip your palms to face up. Close your eyes. You can let your hands rest on your lower abdominals as well. And then go ahead. Bend your knees toward your shoulders. Reach for your feet. And move into happy baby. Maybe your hands reach your shins or your ankles. That's okay. Whatever works for you. Rock around a little on the spine. Breathe into the hips. Release the feet back down to the mat. Knees bent. And we're going to move into a figure four. So left foot over top the right thigh. Left hand applies a little gentle pressure inside that thigh. You can stay in that figure four. Or move like I am here into a reclined pigeon pose. Fingers interlace behind the right thigh. Meet yourself where you are. Relaxing through that left hip. Whichever shape you choose. Lower that right foot back down to the mat. If you're in reclined pigeon. Finding figure four. And then just gently rock side to side in your figure four. Massage your sacrum. And then let's draw that left knee back into the chest. Right hand behind the thigh. And reach your left arm down. Walk your right foot over. Maybe it comes into the hand. Or at least it gets close. And then relax your right knee down to the mat. This is our cat pulling its tail pose variation. You should be feeling sensation here in your right quad. Now draw your right knee up to meet your left at your chest. Take your arms out in goal post. And just draw some nice circles on the ceiling with your knees together. Massaging out that low back. Reverse your circles. And then let your left foot come to the mat. Right ankle over the left thigh for figure four. You're welcome to rock a little. And then if you want to come into reclined pigeon. Interlace the hands behind the left thigh. And draw that knee into the chest. Use your right elbow here to apply a little bit of forward pressure inside that right thigh. And that'll intensify the stretch in the hip. And close your eyes. Breathe here. Relax your left foot back down to the mat now. And then draw your right knee into the chest. Left hand behind the thigh. And reach the right arm down. See if you can walk that left foot over into the right hand. Or at least get close. And then let that left knee relax to the mat. Switching sides in our quad stretch. And then let's draw the left knee up into the chest to meet the right. Take your arms out in goal post. And then we're going to exhale. Let the knees relax over to the left. But don't let them touch the earth. Use your core to draw them back to center. And exhale. Relax them to the right. Don't let them touch. Inhale. Knees to center. Exhale. Use your core. Relax them to the left. Let them hover. Inhale. Knees to center. Exhale. Over to the right. Let them hover. Inhale. Center. Exhale. Over to the left. And hover. Inhale. Center. And exhale. Hover to the right. Breathe in at center. Exhale. Knees over to the left. This time we're going to move all the way into our twist. So let your knees relax down. Turn your head over your right shoulder and arrive. Now if you'd like to use blocks in your twist, I'll demonstrate here. You can put one block in between your thighs and one under that left knee if it doesn't comfortably reach the earth. Remember, You want your right shoulder to stay rooted to the mat here. So if it starts to lift up, Use those blocks to help back you out of your twist just a tad. Relax down your spine. And then bring your head to neutral. Engage your core. Lift your knees back up at center. And then use your exhale to relax them over to your right. Moving your blocks if needed. Arms in goalpost and gaze over your left shoulder. Bring your head to neutral. Use your abdominals for support to draw your knees back to center. Removing any blocks you may have been using. And then just curl yourself into a little ball. Draw your nose toward your knees. Give yourself a hug. And then lower head, Neck, And shoulders down. Extend your legs forward and long. I'm going to adjust on my mat here. Take a big inhale to the crown of your head. Exhale into the mat beneath you. Take another big inhale into your third eye. And again, Just exhale into the support of the mat. One more breath now into your heart space. And then let it go, Arriving in your final relaxation. Now you can slowly begin to wake the body back up. Wiggle your fingers a little bit. Wiggle your toes. Circle through your wrists and your ankles. One direction and then the other. Maybe rock your head side to side. And then lightly engage your heels with the top of your mat. Slide them up toward your sits bones and hug your knees into your chest. One more time. Nice big hug. And then lower head, Neck, And shoulders down. Gently move on to one side or the other. And take your time lifting yourself up to a comfortable seat. Sit up on blocks if you like here. And then we're going to set up for Nadi Shodhana. So you're going to take your left hand. Your index finger and your middle finger are going to rest on your third eye. And the fourth finger and the thumb are going to close off each nostril. So go ahead and close off the nostril beneath your ring finger. Inhale. And then you're going to take your index finger and your middle finger and use your thumb to close off that nostril. Open the right nostril. Exhale. Inhale. Right nostril. Close it off. Exhale. Left nostril. Inhale. Left nostril. Close it off. Exhale. Right nostril. Inhale. Right nostril. Close it off. Exhale. Left nostril. Inhale. Left nostril. Close it off. Exhale. Right nostril. Inhale. Right nostril. Close it off. Exhale. Left nostril. Inhale. Left nostril. Close it off. Exhale. Right nostril. Inhale. Right nostril. Close it off. Exhale. Left nostril. And then just take a big inhale through both nostrils. Big exhale. And lower your left hand down to your knee. Thumbs to forefingers. Close your eyes. Breathe into all the space you've created in your lungs. Palms come together in front of your heart. Namaste.
