Welcome to Yoga for Witches.
Today we journey with a practice of letting go,
Of softness,
Quiet transformation and a spell of release.
We'll find a seated position.
Often this is cross-legged,
But you can extend the legs if you prefer and bring in any support,
Blankets,
Cushions.
This practice is suitable for complete beginners all the way through to seasoned yogis.
You may journey with this practice on your bed,
Upon a soft space upon the ground,
On soft grass in autumnal sunshine.
All you need is a little space and to give yourself a little time.
Imagine your body settling like leaves landing upon the earth.
Easy seat.
You can close the eyes or let the gaze be soft.
Let your jaw soften.
Your shoulders drop.
Imagine leaves turning amber and gold.
Falling without fear.
Nothing is lost.
Everything is becoming.
An invocation for the autumn.
You may say aloud or in your mind's eye,
I release,
I receive.
I release,
I receive.
I release,
I receive.
Maybe these words dance with the rhythm of your breath.
Release,
Receive.
Release,
Receive.
As we journey into the gentlest of movements,
There is no need to open the eyes if you'd rather keep them closed.
We'll let the chin gently fall to the chest and take some little half circles.
Slowly rolling your chin towards one shoulder and then along the front line of the body to the other shoulder.
Side to side.
Little half moons.
As gently as you like.
From here we can bring the head back to upright and do exactly the same at the back of the body.
So we let the head fall back,
Gaze goes skywards now and side to side from shoulder to shoulder.
Little semi circles.
Little crescent moons.
Bringing our head back to upright once more,
Tall through the spine.
From our seated position,
We're all going to extend our legs long.
So with legs long and spine tall,
We look a little like a capital L shape.
And then keeping that beautiful length through the spine,
We'll hinge from the hips.
Let your hands run along your legs towards your feet and let your head hang heavy.
Forehead drifting towards the legs in a forward fold.
You can take softness in the knees if that feels more comfortable.
Taking your time to breathe here.
Imagine releasing what you no longer need.
Letting shoulders,
Heart,
Head settle towards the ground.
We'll come out of this pose the way we came in,
Slow and steady,
Hinging from the hips,
Coming back to that L shape,
Tall spine.
From here,
A lovely twist.
We'll leave the left leg long along the ground,
But we're going to bend the right leg so that the sole of the right foot is on the earth and the knee is drawn towards your heart.
And you can take both hands around that knee,
Drawing it in into a lovely hug.
A little squeeze to heart.
And then from here,
We can draw into the twist.
So what we'll do,
Lovely tall spine,
We'll take our right hand and place it behind us,
Behind our back,
Behind our bum,
Upon the ground.
And then still hugging that right knee,
We're drawing towards the right.
You're spiralling your heart,
Your shoulders,
Your gaze to the right.
Beautiful.
When you feel ready,
Once again,
We'll come out the way we came in,
So we'll turn to face forwards once more.
We'll give the right knee a last hug to heart,
And we'll swap over.
So we'll send the right leg long,
Hug the left knee in towards the heart,
The sole of the left foot on the ground.
And from here,
We can spiral,
So the left hand behind us,
Tall through the spine,
As we spiral heart,
Shoulders and gaze to the left.
From here,
Once more,
We turn to face forwards to face our toes.
And you can release both legs long for a moment.
And we're going to reach both hands high to sky and just take a lovely stretch,
High.
And then from here,
We're going to hug both knees in towards our heart.
We're going to wrap our arms around the knees.
And if it's comfortable to do so,
We're just going to roll back onto the earth.
We'll let the spine settle into the ground,
And we are hugging knees to chest in a little tuck.
You can rock and roll if you like,
A little shimmy side to side,
A little cocoon upon the earth.
And from our little tuck,
We'll just expand long.
So we'll send the legs along the earth,
Arms long overhead,
And take a lovely long line stretch through the body upon the earth.
From here,
We'll bring the arms back alongside the body,
And we'll take a moment to settle for our meditation.
You can bring in blankets if you like to stay warm.
And we're finding the most comfortable place to rest upon the earth,
Allowing ourselves to arrive into stillness,
The quiet presence of your own being.
In the mind's eye,
We stand in a beautiful autumnal forest,
The air fresh,
But not cold.
The ground is soft with layers of fallen leaves,
Reds,
Golds,
Rich browns,
All resting where they have landed.
There is no urgency here.
The trees are not holding on.
They are simply releasing what they no longer need.
No struggle,
Just trust.
And you might imagine that with every exhale you make,
You are gently joining the trees,
Allowing yourself to soften and release.
Soften and let go.
Letting go does not diminish us.
It makes space.
Space for rest.
Space for honesty.
Space for what is still becoming.
Space for the autumn sun and soft winds and wood smoke to dance between your branches.
Space to breathe.
When you feel ready,
We might take a stretch or a wiggle as we gently return to the day.
Gently return to the support beneath you,
The breath moving through you.
With no rush,
We may return to the place we started,
An easy seat.
And as we take time to return,
I might offer you this quiet remembrance.
I'm allowed to release,
I am still whole when I do.
I am allowed to release,
I am still whole when I do.
To bring our journey to a close,
We'll take a lovely deep inhale and reach the hands high to sky.
We'll bring the palms together and exhale the hands to heart center in prayer.
You can gently open the eyes when you feel ready and I welcome you back to the day and to the season of autumn and all it may hold.
Thank you so much for joining me.
Farewell for now and namaste.
