Let's begin on our backs today.
We're going to lie down to start.
We're going to begin like that and end like that.
And I thought that for today's practice,
We would Just really come into our bodies.
And I know a lot of people have back issues,
Low back issues in particular.
So we're going to just do a practice that's really supportive for the low back.
Alright,
So let's lie down.
Feel free to do anything that you need to before we begin.
Sometimes when I lie down,
I like to stretch or hug my knees to my chest.
And then let's come into what's called constructive rest position,
Which is where the feet are on the floor.
A little bit wide so the knees can knock inward.
And then what I'd like you to do here is just lift your hips for a moment.
Lengthen the tailbone forward and then let the low back settle down to the floor so that there's no compression in the low back And the knees are sort of holding each other up.
So take the feet as wide as you like.
You can rest your arms open by your sides,
Or you can place a hand on your chest and a hand on your belly to connect a little more intimately to your body here.
Sometimes just placing a hand helps us to feel the body and the breath.
So whatever you prefer.
And then take a nice full breath in through the notes.
Open the lips and let it all fall away.
If it feels good to sigh,
You might feel the low back anchor down a little bit more.
Let's do that once more.
Deep inhale.
Releasing the breath,
Releasing tension,
Letting your body land here against the floor and just checking in with the shoulders,
The face,
The jaw,
Letting everything relax.
Closing the lips gently,
But the jaw is relaxed as well.
Let the breath flow smoothly in and out of your nose.
Just feel it.
Feel what's happening beneath your hands if they're on your body.
Feel the breath enter you and exit you.
Notice where you feel the breath in your body.
Just allowing each breath to invite you back into your body when your mind takes you away from your body,
Which is usually into thoughts of the future or past.
But the body's here in the present.
The breath is always in the present,
Right?
So just finding that present moment awareness.
Using your breath to anchor you.
And then smoothing the breath,
Lengthening the breath.
We don't want to take deep inhales.
But we want to smooth and lengthen the breath.
So it takes a little longer to inhale and a little longer to exhale.
So the body softens.
So the nervous system is soothed.
So we're in a relaxed mood.
State to practice our yoga.
Now,
If you know your Ujjayi breathing,
Go ahead and do that.
And then see if as you breathe in,
Just the belly can expand front to back,
Side to side.
You might feel that under the bottom hand.
And as you breathe out,
The belly narrows back inward without forcing.
And twice more,
Just into the belly.
Widening it,
Softening it.
And feeling it sink back so that upper hand stays relatively still.
Last time like that,
Just the belly widening,
Even the low back widening toward the floor.
And release.
Good and now let the breath go wherever it wants.
Belly,
Ribs,
Chest.
And releasing.
Feeling that.
Softening that melting back,
And twice more like that.
Letting it go anywhere it wants.
You're not forcing it to be bigger.
You're just lengthening it out.
Releasing the breath,
Feel free to sigh.
Or you're just finding your ujjayi sac.
Good,
And last time.
Now that you're present,
Your nervous system is more relaxed.
Your body's receiving more oxygen.
Extend your arms overhead.
Take a little stretch.
Good,
And then open up your arms nice and wide or into a cactus shape,
Keeping the knees up together.
Drop both knees to the left.
Turn the gaze to the right.
Just releasing into that.
Right hip.
Right side of the low back.
Have your breath out.
Take the knees up and then over to the other side.
And just feeling that breath,
Feeling that shape.
And then as you breathe out,
The knees come back up.
As you bring the knees up,
Bring the feet beneath the knees.
Grab your knees.
Pull them toward the chest.
Let the low back widen against the floor.
You can rock to massage it.
You can wiggle the feet or head,
Just loosening things up a bit.
Good.
Now we're just going to release the left foot down,
Cross the right ankle over the thigh.
So coming in to thread the needle here so that the sacrum,
The low back,
Widens against the floor.
It's a really nice supportive pose for that.
Now you can use your right hand to press the right knee away from you.
Relax the neck,
The shoulders,
The face.
And maybe hover the left foot off the floor,
But you don't have to grab it,
Right?
We're going to do a deeper version of it at the end.
And then release the left foot back down.
Keep this cross.
You're like in a figure four with the legs.
And then without changing anything,
Just let the right sole of the foot come over to the floor to the left.
So that knee is pointing upward.
You can take the left hand to press it away from you a little bit as the right arm opens to the right.
If that's okay with your body,
Go for it.
Breathe into it.
Good,
And then take your right knee toward the floor.
So it's a little bit of a different shape.
You're going to create a little more space there in the low back.
Good.
And then use your left hand to guide the right knee back up.
Take the left knee up,
Both knees back to the chest.
Take a little rock.
Loosen and massage that low back.
And then right foot on the floor,
Left ankle crossing.
So left hand compress the left knee away.
See,
If you can feel the sacrum sort of widen against the floor,
It's a triangular bone at the bottom of the spine where it meets the pelvis.
And maybe you just hover the right foot off the floor.
You don't have to grab it.
We'll do that later.
Good.
Release it back down.
Keep this cross knee away from you.
And then sole of the left foot lands on the floor to the right.
So that right hand can aim the left knee up.
The left hip can relax a little bit.
The left ribs can fall to the floor.
Maybe the left arm is out.
Feel it,
Breathe into it.
And then that right hand helps to draw the left knee down.
And just feeling that nice little release there from the low back.
Even for that.
And then gently when you're ready,
Use that right hand to guide the left knee back up.
Pull both knees back to the chest.
And then start a little rock and roll side to side,
Forward and back.
Any way that you'd like to make your way up to hands and knees.
So we're going to keep the low back really healthy in today's practice as i mentioned but some of you might be arriving a little late that's okay Let's start with a couple cat-cows here.
On the inhale,
The belly sinks,
The gaze comes forward,
The sit bones rise.
And as you exhale,
Drop the head round the back.
Pull the navel in.
Do it again,
Inhaling.
Towel pose.
Exhaling to a cat so hang the head press the floor Let's widen the knees again.
And then drop your hips back to your heels coming into child's pose.
Let your elbows land,
Let your forehead land.
Feel free to wiggle anything.
And just see if you can sense the low back,
The sacrum area kind of widening here.
And then use your breath awareness to fill up the belly and the low back as you breathe in.
Giving it some spaciousness and releasing any tension as you breathe.
And then just one more time like that.
Maybe it's just into the low belly.
Maybe it's into the whole body.
Your choice.
And letting go.
And then we'll extend the arms forward.
We'll lift the gaze and we're going to plant both elbows on the floor here.
So paralleling the forearms.
Is that a word?
Paralleling.
Live.
Lift your hips away from your heels and then walk your feet all the way back to forearm plank.
Now feel free to drop your knees if this is too much.
It's all good.
Otherwise,
Knees are up.
Face lifts away from the floor so the head's not drooping,
Right?
You can even take the gaze slightly forward and then pull the belly button in.
And just feel that support of the core muscles anchoring and supporting the low back.
Take a breath.
And then let the knees come down way back there and slowly release the toes and release the hips to the floor.
Good and then with the elbows down see if you can feel for kind of pulling so gently the heart forward but the shoulders move off the ears.
I like to wiggle my head here,
Do what feels right for you.
You might choose to bring the thumbs together to touch,
And we'll just bend the right knee,
Lifting the foot off the floor,
Letting that right hip point get a little heavy.
Feel free to reach back with the right hand to catch the foot.
If that's nice for you,
Pulling the heel in.
You're not jamming the low back.
The belly can lift a little bit.
If it's too much,
You don't have to grab the foot.
Just lifting it is enough.
Let's release it and do the other side,
Left foot lifting.
Maybe left hand catches the foot to pull it toward you.
And just let that hip point still stay a little low,
The right shoulder off the ear.
Releasing the quads Belly can lift away from the floor a little bit.
Good.
And then release the left foot as well.
Now parallel your forearms again.
Curl the toes under.
Keep the knees down.
But on your exhale,
Lift the belly and hips away from the floor.
And then see if you want to lift the knees again.
Forearm plank.
Good.
So navel hugs in.
So we want the core to support the low back.
Breath smooth.
What is that?
On the next exhale,
Hips lift up.
And just inch by inch,
Walk the toes a little closer to the elbows.
And go ahead and pedal the knees.
Dropping one heel,
Bending the opposite knee,
Maybe wiggling the head,
And getting a nice little stretch through the back body.
Stay here.
Breathe into it.
Relax.
Knees can be as bent or straight as you want them.
It's all good.
And then we'll take the knees back down and come into a child's pose again.
Hips back.
Head rest.
Feel free to rock a little.
And then breathe into whatever you're feeling.
Stay in your body.
You might side this one out.
Okay.
Hands extend forward.
Plant the palms.
We'll make our way back to hands and knees.
Keep the knees wide.
Bring the feet back behind the knees.
Let's make our way to downward facing dog.
So wide feet so the low back has a lot of width inner thighs rolling back.
And as you look at the feet,
See if the heels can disappear so that outer edges of the feet are sort of lined up with those long sides of the yoga.
You might want to bump your hips over to the right,
Over to the left,
Just feeling into it all.
Let the heart melt in.
Bend the knees,
Lift the heels,
Look forward,
And when you're ready,
Slow walk up to the top of your yoga mat.
Feet towards him.
When you get there,
Just fold in half,
Drop the head.
Catch your elbows,
Maybe a sway,
Feet about,
Hips width apart.
So again,
That low back can let go.
And then let's release our hands to our thigh bones here,
Just above the knees,
And elongate the spine halfway.
So with the support there,
It's very helpful.
Pull the navel in.
Bend the knees a little bit low.
Lift the heart.
Good.
And then arms up,
Chair,
Baby chair,
Though.
Inhale.
Press to stand as you exhale,
Bring your hands to your heart in prayer pose.
Roll the shoulders back and down,
Start adjusting my pants.
Draw the belly button in,
Send the tailbone downward,
Lift the back of the head upward,
Soften the face,
Steady your gaze,
Set an intention for your practice.
So even if you don't have low back issues,
You're going to give your back some support here.
We want to make sure you don't get any.
Alright,
Release the hands,
Reach up,
Breathe in.
And then we'll take a fold on the out breath.
Lead with the heart and drop the head.
Let your hands land.
Bend the right knee and just step the left foot all the way back.
And then we're gonna pivot it at an angle.
Okay now this is really important because the sacrum gets a little tweaked sometimes in yoga so we want to keep it really safe so the left toes point to the front corner of the mat the right hip draws back so we want to keep the sacrum a little bit wide the inner left thigh rolling back bend that front knee And float your arms back if you like or keep them on the floor.
Palms can face down if they're lifted.
On the next inhale,
Press and rise up,
Warrior one.
Good,
So think about the tailbone reaching downward like it's a third leg,
The front knee staying over the heel,
And the belly button hugging in.
And then let's cactus open the arms,
Drop the shoulders.
Now keep pulling the belly in so you're not jamming the low back,
Right?
We want the tailbone to aim straight down,
The heart gently widen.
Take a breath.
Beautiful.
Hands back to the floor.
Lift that back heel and just pause.
Lean into the left hand,
Float the right hand up,
But keep that back leg lifted away from the floor.
Draw the right hip back.
If you want you can extend the right arm overhead.
And then back down.
We'll look forward and step forward.
Flat back,
Inhale.
Lengthen out.
Good,
Fold as you exhale,
Hands down,
Right step,
Right foot steps way back.
Pivot it at that angle,
Right?
So the feet are hips distance apart.
The back toes are pointing to the top right corner of the mat.
Before you rise up,
Draw this left hip back.
Bend the front knee.
Let the inner thigh roll back.
Arms can float back if you want.
Palms down.
Collarbones wide.
The Halloween End.
Good,
On your inhale,
Rise up.
So you want to press a little into that back foot.
And so this is a really common pose where we're wanting to jam the low back,
Right?
Because we think we want to pull the ribs forward.
The ribs hug back.
The tail anchors down.
The low back has width.
And then let's open up the arms in a captive.
Good.
Now keep hugging the belly and supporting that little back front.
You can bend as much as you like.
Breathe,
Relax neck and shoulders.
Anchor the tailbone toward the floor.
Beautiful hands back down lift the back heel and then lift the left hand coming into a twist But we don't want to twist so much that we're tweaking the sacrum like right left hip back.
Back thigh strong and then maybe left arm overhead and down.
We'll look forward and step forward.
Flat back,
Inhale.
Fold.
Good,
With bent knees and a flat back,
Press and rise,
Up,
Reach up.
Hands to the heart.
Okay,
So now that we've set it up,
Let's flow through it.
Inhale,
Arms up.
And exhale fold.
Inhale,
Flat back.
Let's add a vinyasa.
Exhale,
Step back,
Plank.
Take your in breath.
You can lower knees first,
Keep the low back safe and then the chest.
Point the toes,
Gently lift the heart for cobra.
We don't want to jam the low back here.
Curl the toes under,
Plank to down dog,
Exhale.
Good bend the knees lift the heels look forward on your in breath walk forward on your out Flatten out,
Inhale.
Fold,
Exhale,
Left foot steps back,
Pivoted at that angle.
Inhale up to warrior one,
Tail anchoring down.
Exhale,
Hands to the mat.
Look forward,
Step forward.
I know we skipped something.
Inhale,
Flat back.
I wanted to.
Exhale,
Fold right foot steps back at an angle.
Warrior one,
We rise up,
Anchor the tail down,
Draw the belly in.
Hands down,
Exhale.
Lift the back heel and step forward.
So we skip that twisting pose.
Inhale,
Flat back.
Exhale,
Fold.
Press and rise on your in-breath.
Reach up.
Hands to your heart,
Belly to your spine.
Now keep the belly engaged,
But reach up.
So feel for lifting the back really.
Exhale fold.
Good.
Flat back is your in-breath.
Hands down,
Left foot steps back on the out breath,
Up to warrior one,
Inhale,
Anchor into that back foot,
Draw the right hip back,
Navel in.
Hands down,
Exhale,
Step forward.
Inhale flatten Exhale fold right foot steps back at an angle inhale press and rise up as you dip the hips and pull the belly in Hands down exhale step forward good inhale flat back exhale fold baby chair pose inhale Press to rise,
Exhale,
Hands to the heart.
Let's just do it one more time.
Inhale,
Reach up.
Exhale fold in half.
Inhale,
Flat back.
Exhale hands down left foot steps back at an angle warrior one is your inhale press and rise up hold the navel in Exhale,
Hands down,
Step forward.
Inhale flat back.
Exhale,
Fold right foot steps back.
Inhale warrior one.
Good.
Exhale,
Hands down.
Step forward.
Inhale,
Flat back.
Exhale fold let's come to the full chair pose now bend your knees lift your hands chair pose Okay,
So remember hands can come onto the thighs to lengthen the spine,
Drop the shoulders,
Pull the navel in.
So we really keep the low back supported.
But if you have the core support,
Hands lift,
The back ribs,
Front ribs drop in.
Maybe sink a little lower,
Reach a little higher.
And then we'll stand up,
Hands to the heart,
Navel to the spine.
We'll go back to the chair.
Inhale.
And then we'll fold in half.
Exhale.
Flatten the back as you breathe in.
So we elongate.
And then we'll drop the head and hands on the out breath.
We're going to step the left foot back,
But now we're going to just pause for a moment here.
Make sure the feet are about hips distance apart.
Good.
And then we're going to straighten this front leg.
So play with straightening it.
So the right hip dips,
Pulls back a little bit.
The inner left thigh rolls back a little bit.
Pull the heart gently forward.
Good.
And then take your right hand on top of the right shin maybe.
Draw that right hip back.
Lengthen the spine.
So it's like a pyramid pose.
And then we're going to lift the left hand up.
So I want this left hip to be pointing downward.
So it's triangle pose but with a really safe low back.
Yeah?
Good.
And then the shoulders move off the ears.
If you want,
The left arm can extend overhead.
The belly hugs in.
But maybe both,
Maybe the left hand lifts.
If you feel really strong in your low back,
You can take both arms,
Extend them overhead.
I'm going to keep my hand down.
And you might even slide your hand down to the floor.
Good and then this lifted left hand the palm is gonna spin back you're gonna take it behind your back so that even though this left hip points down the left shoulder rolls back Good,
Now lengthen the spine.
Pull the front ribs in toward the back ribs.
Look down at the right toes.
You can keep the left arm behind you if you like.
Start to bend the right knee,
Lift the back heel.
Let's play with half moon.
Right fingertips down.
Left foot lifts top shoulder lifts But the right hip draws back,
And that left hip is pointing downward,
So you're not jamming the low back.
Engage your core.
Draw the ribs in.
Release the bound arm if you want.
If you want to bend the back leg and catch the foot.
You can kick it back,
But aim the tailbone back so you're not jamming that low back.
Then release the foot because mine just sprung away bend the front knee land back lightly to second warrior keep that front knee bent Anchor the tailbone down.
So now you're perpendicular to the floor.
Drop the left hand back.
Spin the right palm up.
Let's reverse warrior.
Inhale.
Keep that front knee bent.
Breathe.
You can support the head with the hand if you want just for a breath.
As the hip dips and the elbow lifts,
And then we'll windmill the hands to the front of the mat.
Now just lift that back heel.
And then step the right foot all the way back.
Plank pose,
Inhale.
And lower safely,
Maybe knees first.
Exhale.
Good.
Cobra,
Inhale so the heart pulls forward.
Lift the navel and the hips,
Plank to down dog,
Exhale.
Breathe in.
And let it go.
Lift the heels,
Bend the knees.
Look forward,
Inhale.
And we'll walk forward and exhale.
Flat back,
Inhale.
And we'll fold.
Exhale.
Good.
Chair pose.
Bend your knees.
Remember,
Hands to thighs to prop you up or hands lifting.
Either way,
You're good.
Use your core to support you here.
Lift the back ribs,
Draw the front ribs in and down.
Relax the forehead,
The neck,
The face.
Keep breathing.
Hug those front ribs in.
Good.
Feel the low back widen with the breath.
Nice and then maybe sink a lower a little lower as you breathe in Stand as you breathe out,
Hands to your hands.
All right,
Second side,
Chair pose,
Inhale.
And we'll fold forward at.
Flat back first,
Inhale to elongate.
And then fold as you exhale,
Hands down.
This time we'll step the.
.
.
Sorry,
Right foot back.
Which side are we on?
So pivot that foot at an angle.
Pause here.
Fingertips on the floor,
Maybe you have blocked.
And then play with straightening that front leg,
Right?
So the hip pulls back.
You can hang the head to widen and open into the low back a bit.
The feet are about hips width apart,
So you have stability.
Good,
And maybe the knee needs to stay bent.
I have a little injury on the back of my knee,
So I'm gonna keep my knee a little bit bent.
Good.
And then start to maybe take your left hand to the left shin bone.
Lengthen the heart halfway up.
So you're in about a sort of a pyramid code.
Pose and then right hand lift.
So I want this back right hip point.
To point downward,
Not swing open.
So you're in a triangle pose,
But it's sort of a.
.
.
A triangle pyramid combination in a way,
But I want that with the right ribs.
Or the right sorry shoulder to lift.
The left hip to hug back toward that right heel.
The back foot to anchor you.
Good.
And again,
Remember you can take the right arm overhead if you want,
But the belly's hugging in.
When you're ready,
You can take the right arm,
Spin the palm back,
And take it behind your back.
And then we're going to roll the top shoulder up.
Now,
It's really common for the shoulders to lift to the ears here.
So bottom bicep spins forward.
Maybe the hand comes onto the floor instead of the shin.
Feel for lengthening the spine,
Anchoring the tail back,
Pulling the navel in and rolling that top shoulder up.
Do what's comfortable for your neck here.
Good.
So I want you to feel the width of the low back of the sacrum.
Beautiful.
Alright.
Let's take a bend in that front knee.
Lift the back heel.
Make your way to half moon.
Easily,
Gently.
Try not to let the front knee track in or out.
Keep it over the heel.
Back foot lifts.
But the hip still points straight downward.
Good.
Maybe the right arm lifts up.
Maybe it extends overhead,
But maybe not.
Tailbone is still reaching for the back foot.
But the hip is pointing a little bit down.
The low back has some width.
The shoulders are off the ears.
Remember,
If you want to catch the back foot,
Feel free.
They call it cha pasana,
But tailbone reaches for the knee,
Right?
So the low back stays long,
The belly stays engaged.
Release the foot.
We're going to land lightly back to second warrior.
Keep that front knee bent.
Right hand back.
Reverse warrior.
Keep the front knee bent.
Support the head if you like.
Anchor the tail down,
Lift the left elbow.
All right when you're ready release and windmill the hands to the top of your yoga mat step back to plank pose inhale Lower safely,
Maybe knees first,
Then chest.
Then hips and toes.
And then a gentle inhale to cobra.
And back to down dog or child's pose.
Woo!
Feel free to take a wiggle in either pose,
Wherever you are is perfect.
Alright,
You guys.
If you're in child,
Make your way back to hands and knees.
If you're in down dog,
Let your knees come down.
We're just gonna crawl to the front edge of the mat so that we can make our way onto our backs because it is a short practice.
So give your knees a little hug and let the low back round and massage against the floor.
Alright,
Let's do a little bit of core work to help support the.
.
.
The width of the low back.
So we want to have a strong especially those lower core muscles.
Support the low back.
Pull your knees toward you feel as you can the low back widen the back of the head relaxing The jaw softening.
Good,
And then without pulling your knees in with your hands,
Just keep them there,
Right?
So let go.
Arms can either come out to the sides or if you want to work a little harder if your low back feels healthy,
Arms can swing back behind you.
Good.
And I want you just to pull the knees toward the chest.
And then let them shift a little bit further.
So on the exhale,
The knees come to the chest.
You might feel the pelvis lift away from the floor and inhale them maybe back over the hips.
And then again,
Exhale,
They lift.
Inhale,
They move back over the hips a bit.
Keep that going.
So on your exhale,
You hug the belly in to bring the knees as close as you can.
And on your inhale,
You keep the belly pulling downward,
But the knees shift forward.
Good.
So there's two more.
Good.
And now we're going to bring the knees close again and we're going to lift the feet up.
So it's harder with straight legs,
So feel free to bend the knees any amount,
But we're going to do it again,
Or we're going to try.
Now,
I would invite you to bring your hands by your sides.
Going to give you a little bit more support so navel pulls down toward the floor low back stays wide feet come knees come closer toward you maybe you're looking at your toes right over your eyes there And then exhale,
Feet move away from you.
Keep the navel hugging in.
I'm sorry,
That was the inhale.
Exhale,
The knees come.
The feet come closer.
Inhale,
They lower.
Maybe just under diagonal or maybe straight over the hip.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Try not to use the neck.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Don't go so low that the low back lifts away from the floor.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Keep the low back anchoring so you might not go very low at all.
Exhale.
Inhale,
Last one.
Exhale,
Now stay here,
Just lower the right leg on your inhale and now you can take it lower.
Exhale,
Right foot comes up.
Inhale,
Left leg lowers.
Exhale,
Left foot up.
Inhale,
Right.
Exhale,
Right foot up.
Inhale,
Left leg.
Good.
Exhale,
Left foot up.
Inhale,
Right leg lowers.
Exhale,
Right foot up.
Inhale,
Left leg lowers.
Good.
And then left foot lifts.
Go ahead and open the feet apart.
Let your hands support the legs.
Give the feet a little wiggle or the head a little wiggle.
Just relax.
And then we're going to bend the knees.
We're going to come to happy baby.
So catching the edges of the feet,
You might want to rock a little bit.
Back of the neck long,
Safer and nice and wide.
Shoulders and face.
Alright,
Let's release the feet,
Bring the knees back to the chest.
And then let's release both feet onto the floor.
Now we'll thread the needle,
Crossing the right ankle over the left thigh.
We'll lift the left foot off the floor this time,
Capturing the back of the leg or the shin to draw the legs closer.
Relaxing the jaw,
The eyes,
The face,
The shoulders.
Feeling,
If you can,
The breath moving into the low back.
And the belly releasing any tension there.
And then let's let go and uncross to the other side.
Left ankle bone cross.
Grab your right leg anywhere you like.
Relax the neck,
The face,
The jaw,
The shoulders.
Feel the flow of breath.
Bring a little more release into that lower back.
Let's release the right leg,
Unprompt.
And then again,
Let's bring the feet wide,
Knees knocking together like we did in the beginning,
Arms in that cactus shape.
Both knees are going to swivel to the left,
Turn the gaze to the right.
Let the belly expand on your in-breath.
And release on the out-breath.
And then we'll take these up and to the other side.
And inhale into the belly and the back.
And exhale as you release it.
And again.
Mmm,
So good.
On the out-breath,
The knees come up,
The feet wiggle beneath the knees,
Both knees come to the chest.
Let's take a final twist,
But let's keep the knees together for this one.
So keep the knees as close to the chest as you can,
Arms nice and wide,
And then both knees are going to go to the left.
Doesn't really matter which side you start with.
You can weight the top leg with the opposite hand there.
And it's okay if the top hip or knee slips back.
Let it.
Just let the opposite shoulder and arm relax.
Turn the head,
Whichever way feels best for your neck.
And see if the whole low back sacrum area can stay supported,
Can stay wide.
You might feel a nice release,
A nice little stretch.
Breathing into the whole low belly low back area and letting tension melt away as you breathe out Hmm.
And then maybe releasing the hand from the leg if you took it there.
And on an exhale,
Both knees come back up and into center,
And then both knees come over to the other side.
And the opposite hand for me,
It's the right,
Is going to support the outer left leg.
So you're just waving it.
Good.
And then the opposite.
Left shoulder is relaxed.
And you're getting a nice opening,
A nice release in the left low back.
And then just check in with the eyes.
Make sure they're relaxed.
From the gaze or head,
Whichever way you prefer and feel the breath.
Feel that widening into the low part of the body.
And the softening.
And then releasing the hand.
You can even use the hand to help bring the knees back up,
Whatever you like.
When the knees come back to center,
Oh,
Perfect time.
Let's take some circles with the knees to massage the low back against the floor.
Feel free to wiggle the head any way you like.
Do anything else your body's asking for.
Now,
If you have a wall,
Feel free to lift the legs up onto the wall or maybe just lifting your feet.
Otherwise,
Feel free to come into Shavasana and you can take.
.
.
Constructive rest like we did in the beginning or let the legs go long if your low back feels okay.
The low back is tender at all.
I'm going to invite you to keep the knees bent.
And then close your eyes.
Let your palms open by your sides here.
Let your eyes fall back in the skull.
Separate the top and bottom teeth.
And then through the nose,
Breathe in deep.
Open the lips and let it go.
We're going to do that one more time after you've emptied.
So through the nose,
Breathing deeply.
This time,
When you're full,
Hold the breath for a moment.
And then take a little blast of extra air.
And now open the lips and let it all go.
And gently close the lips.
Let the breath just flow through the nose softly now.
Without directing it in any way,
But just notice.
Feel the body relax against the floor.
The eye muscles let go.
Feel that soft belly.
You might notice its movement.
See if you can notice that soft whisper of breath right at the tip of the nose and upper lip.
And then let everything else fade away.
Allow yourself another minute or so.
To be still and silent.
Wow.
And supporting.
And as you rest here in your Shavasana shape,
Whichever shape you've chosen,
Just take a moment here at the end.
Appreciate your body.
Your practice,
Your breath,
Your life.
Find appreciation for this moment.
This is all that's real.
Everything else is a fantasy.
Or memory.
And it's all skewed.
This is reality.
Can you be grateful for this real precious moment,
This next real precious breath?
And then with gratitude.
Let the breath fill you.
Let it go.
Stay as you are as long as you like.
If you're ready to move,
Start to move.
Make your way up.
We're finishing right on time.
Yay.
Thank you so much for practicing.
Namaste.
