It’s now officially January, and everyone's back into the swing of things after the end of the Holiday season. Although all of the hustle and bustle, the sales, parties, and events, is behind us, it’s easy to get stressed out and completely overwhelmed trying to readjust to daily life. There's so much to see and do this time of year, and it's hard not to get caught up in the "what comes next?' mindset. In the quest to soak in the whole of what's around us, we lose sight of the big picture. Let's give ourselves an extra gift in 2019 by taking the time to slow down and appreciate every moment as it happens. That mindfulness will not only make the winter season more enjoyable, but will help us enjoy 2019 with a sense of peace and clarity, and gratitude for everyone and everything we hold close to our hearts. What better way to start the new year? So grab a couple blocks, a blanket, and a bolster or pillow; set your intention for your practice, and let's get to it!
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Coming onto hands and knees in Table Pose, allow big toes to touch and knees to come out as wide as your mat. On a deep breath out, press your hips down to your heels and walk your hands forward, resting the space between your eyebrows onto the mat. Using your breath to guide your practice, allow each inhale to travel up and down your spine. Then use each exhale to further release any tension you come across. If you have any knee pain in this posture, try taking a blanket, fold it over once, and then place it at the back of the knees. This will lift some of the weight from your knee joints, giving you space to fully enjoy and benefit from the pose. Stay here for about 5 minutes, then reset in table, taking a few Cat and Cow movements to bring energy back to the spine.
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Setting back up in Table, breathe deeply into the spine, then start to walk hands forward. Keeping hips stacked over knees, exhale as you arch your back and allow your heart to melt down towards the mat. Still being mindful to move with your breath, let your inhales create more space between each vertebrae, then use that space to deepen the pose on your exhales. You can either keep arms extended or bend through elbows, bringing hands to Anjali (Prayer) Mudra, fingers pointing towards ceiling. For an even deeper stretch, try placing elbows on blocks, starting at the lowest level. Take your expression of the pose for about 5 minutes, and whenever you're ready, move back through Table, tucking toes and pressing back to Downward Facing Dog for a few breaths.
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From Down Dog, lower knees back down into Table, then walk hands towards the front of the mat. Shifting heart and shoulders forward, lower forearms to the mat. Stacking shoulders over elbows, allow your shoulder blades to "plug into" the back. Walk feet towards the back of the mat to fully extend legs, then allow the legs and tops of feet to rest, and bring your focus to your glutes and hips. These two areas can hold a large portion of our daily stresses and tensions, and a lot of times, we have to actually "tell" ourselves to relax through them. So as you take deep inhales in your Sphinx pose, send that breath along the low spine, allowing it to search for any tension along the way. As you exhale, work on intentionally releasing more and more of that tension.
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Feel free to stay in Sphinx for the whole 5 minutes, or if you feel open enough to go deeper, start to press the heels of your hands into the mat, lifting forearms and straightening elbows. Be sure to keep shoulders relaxing down, and make sure you're allowing just your bones to prop you up! Yin yoga is about letting our muscles to as little work as possible, instead working into the fascia that supports them. Wherever you are after 5 minutes are up, slowly lower stomach, chest and chin to the mat. Bring arms out in front of you and reach for opposite elbows, allowing the space between the eyebrows to rest on your forearms. Hold this counter pose for about a minute.
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From your counter posture, turn your head to rest the right ear to the mat. Inhaling, allow your left knee to come in line with your left hip. If this already feels intense, keep your left foot in close. If you feel like you have the space to go a deeper, flex your left foot and bring it in line with your left knee. For added comfort, try placing a blanket or towel under your knee and your ankle. Stay in your expression of this pose for 2 1/2 minutes, then switch to the right side. After the second side, slowly make your way back through table, then swing legs out in front, bend knees, and "windshield wipe" legs back and forth a few times. Then bring soles of the feet to the mat, as close to your glutes as you can get them.
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Grabbing hold of your bent legs, slowly lower yourself down to your back. Keep feet in close, and tuck shoulder blades underneath you. Taking a deep breath in, begin to lift your hips towards the ceiling. Bring a block to the sacrum, or almost where a belt would rest along your hips. Once you have it in a comfortable place (it might take a little readjusting!), allow your body to completely melt over the block. From here, allow yourself to play around with the pose; maybe stretching arms out overhead, or extending legs out below you. Maybe even play with lifting one or both feet up towards the ceiling. Whatever you do, get cozy as we hold this posture for about 5 minutes. Whenever you feel ready, start to bring soles of the feet back to the mat by your glutes, then lift the hips a little higher to remove your block. Then gently lower all of the way back down, connecting each vertabrae with the mat as you go.
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Once you've completely lowered down from your Supported Bridge, hug both knees into the chest. As you gently connect the base of the spine to your mat, begin to rock side to side. Then coming back to the center, allow your arms to fall out by your sides as you start to exhale your bent knees down to the right side. Allow both shoulders to stay grounding into the mat as you look over your left shoulder. Maybe even close your eyes here as you foster a sense of gratitude for your practice. Maybe even take these moments to revisit your intention, or to reconnect with your breath. Hold for about 2 1/2 minutes. Whenever ready, inhale knees back to center and then exhale to the other side.
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After you’ve wrung out any extra tension with your final twists, hug knees back to center, giving them one more gentle squeeze before lowering your body completely down to the mat for your Savasana. Take up as much space as you would like to, maybe even placing your bolster under your knees, or draping the blanket over you to stay warm. Let a sense of peace and clarity rush over you as you close your eyes and fully relax. Let your breath be what it is, and let your body be what it is. Stay here for as long as you need. Whenever you're ready, roll over to your left side to reflect on your practice for a moment. Allow that wave of calmness to wash over you once more, knowing that you can always come back to this moment, or to this practice, at any time that you feel even remotely stressed or worried.
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