Restorative Yoga

May 27, 2020

Information

With Ellen McNally, RYT 500, TCTSY-F

ID5245

To CiteDCA Citation Guide

00:00And if everybody would just take a moment to
00:05make sure that your mute is on,
00:08that would be really helpful.
00:13So welcome to our Tuesday
00:15afternoon Restorative Class.
00:16I'm Ellen from the Smilow
00:18Integrative Medicine Department.
00:20Today will do a one hour of restorative
00:23yoga practice and of the first
00:25thing that we're going to do is a
00:28technique called sandbag breathing.
00:30So I've asked people to provide themselves,
00:33either with a like a 5 pound
00:36bag of rice or beans,
00:38or even a a larger book that
00:40you can place across your tummy.
00:43I myself have safely wrapped
00:46in a plastic bag.
00:47The 10 pound bag of
00:50organic sugar from Costco,
00:51so this is my sandbag today
00:54and to start we will make our
00:57way to our backs on the mat
00:59or whatever you're resting on.
01:03You might want to
01:06have something beneath your head.
01:10Just so you have a little bit
01:14of support underneath your head,
01:16and then whatever your weight is is
01:19going to rest up on your tummy just
01:22below the bottom of your ribs and
01:26a little bit higher on your hips.
01:29It's more on your navel,
01:31so not too low, not too high,
01:34and once you get back on to your back,
01:38find your. Uh. Handbag stand in.
01:45And it just find
01:46that place on your tummy where
01:49you can rest it and your body
01:52will tell you the right place.
01:54So if its way up on your ribs and
01:58pressing on your ribs, that's too high.
02:01If it's too far and it's, uh,
02:03you know closer to your leg and hip crease,
02:07that's a little bit too low,
02:09so just slide it around until you
02:12find the place that you feel is.
02:15Optimal. And
02:17then place your hands maybe 6 to 8
02:23inches or so away from the size of your body.
02:32I'm going to set up so I can talk to you.
02:42So one of the fundamental
02:44breck techniques in yoga is,
02:46uh, as some of you might know,
02:49is diaphragmatic breathing.
02:51And because we tend to breathe
02:53more xiaolian our day-to-day life,
02:56and that's for a variety of reasons,
02:59sometimes were rushed or upset
03:01or nervous about something in our
03:04breath tends to be more shallow,
03:06and when that happens,
03:08we actually deprive our bodies of the oxygen.
03:12Sufficient oxygen to operate so it
03:15effects us not just in our lungs but
03:18down to a cellular level so our cells
03:21don't get enough oxygen or tissues
03:24don't get enough oxygen or glands or organs,
03:28so this exercise is designed specifically to
03:31help you strengthen your diaphragm muscle,
03:34which is one of the strongest bodies
03:37of strongest muscles in your body.
03:40And were essentially training ourselves
03:43to naturally breathe more deeply,
03:45so that when we get upset or frightened,
03:50or you know excessively distracted
03:52when we notice our breath changes
03:55to a more shallow depth,
03:58we automatically can say, Oh,
04:00I need to breathe all deeper,
04:04and that diaphragmatic breath,
04:06the ability to do that is available.
04:10So once you have your a sandbag said.
04:17If you're not using a sandbag and using
04:19a book it it will be the same thing.
04:21If you're using neither,
04:22you can place your hands on your tummy.
04:29Begin to breathe. Just breathe
04:33natural. Inhale natural Exhale.
04:42Once you get a
04:44sense of yourself breathing,
04:47begin to notice, uh?
04:49Where it travels, is it more shallow?
04:53More in your upper rib cage?
04:55Is it somewhere in your middle section
04:58or do you already feel your weight
05:01rising and falling a little bit?
05:12If this area is weak, it will
05:14affect the way you breathe.
05:19So again, the point of doing
05:22this exercise is number one.
05:24Be aware of diaphragmatic breathing,
05:27deep belly breathing,
05:28#2 take steps to strengthen that area.
05:31So with the way you're actually using a
05:35little bit at that little bit of effort
05:39for your diaphragm to move up and down,
05:42and those muscles in your
05:45abdomen consequently begin to get
05:47activated and it just like any
05:50kind of abdominal strengthening.
05:52Overtime it takes a little bit of time,
05:56but overtime that area becomes much
05:59stronger an you can rely on it.
06:02Uh, when you need to achieve that deeper,
06:06more systematic diaphragmatic breath.
06:11You might notice
06:12whether the weight goes up easily
06:15or if there's a little bit of effort
06:19which suggests that you might want
06:22to concentrate going forward.
06:24Strengthening this area not
06:26just with this exercise,
06:28but any of the other exercises
06:31you do in yoga class like the
06:34belly pumping cat cow boat pose.
06:38Any of those are abdominal strengthening.
06:46Is it as we continue notice some
06:49other qualities of your breath?
06:52So we're establishing a connection
06:54and awareness of how deep or how
06:57shallow our breath is when it moves.
07:00Now notice some other things.
07:02Notice whether your breath is continuous.
07:06You know, just flowing one into the other.
07:09No gap, no pause.
07:13Fluid. Continuous.
07:21And then perhaps
07:22notice whether your inhale and Exhale
07:25are the same length, or if one is
07:28shorter or longer than the other.
07:34With the way. You might.
07:38You might notice that your
07:41exhale becomes a little longer.
07:45Possibly. Annuar inhale
07:48a little shorter, maybe
07:51a little slower, because you're
07:53trying to inhale with that weight
07:57on your abdomen, so it might affect.
08:00How your breath is moving and that's OK.
08:03It's because it's all
08:05that part is self study.
08:07Getting to be really familiar
08:08really know your breath.
08:14Now I notice if there are any pauses or
08:17gaps and this might be very very subtle.
08:22Sometimes it occurs more at
08:24the bottom of your exhale as
08:27you prepare to inhale, you might
08:29detect the smallest of gaps.
08:38And if you do
08:40notice that pause Org at notice if it's,
08:43you know, just like a split second or
08:45if it's a little bit longer where you
08:48actually are slightly holding your breath.
08:56And then with awareness intention,
08:58if there is a pause,
09:01see if you can slide your
09:03exhale right into your inhale.
09:05An also inhale right into your
09:08exhales and no pauses, no gaps.
09:11That sounds easy.
09:12I have found that it's actually
09:14a little more challenging.
09:18Because sometimes the gap
09:20at the pauses so slight,
09:22so subtle it's barely perceptible.
09:31And then finally, notice.
09:32Did you hear any noise from your breath?
09:35Is there like a slight whooshing
09:37sound either on the inhale or
09:39the exhale that might be due to a
09:42little stuffiness or congestion.
09:46You can try flaring your nostrils
09:49a little bit if you're noticing
09:52that create a little bit more
09:55space for the inhalation.
09:57And the ECB solation that
09:59might help the sound subside.
10:01And then take a few more breaths.
10:16And when you're ready, remove your weight.
10:20You push it well
10:22out of the way. We won't be using that again.
10:28And then simply come to rest
10:31on your back. Without the way.
10:36If you would like to include
10:40something under your knees if
10:43your lower back is a little
10:47bit sensitive this afternoon.
10:49He can roll up a blanket.
10:51You might have a cushion.
10:53You can easily roll over.
10:56And then allow yourself guide yourself
10:58back to resting on your back.
11:03Take a moment to
11:05notice the area of your lumbar spine.
11:08Your lower back.
11:09That's a place where we often hold,
11:12you know, tension, stress.
11:14Uh, we tend to over work it so it can
11:19sometimes become sore or creaky. And
11:23then if you like, you can structure hands
11:26out across from your shoulder.
11:29So this is a bit of a chest opening.
11:36You can also, if you have the
11:38capacity to bend your elbows without
11:40your arms being off the floor,
11:43so if your forearms will rest on the floor.
11:46And you don't need support.
11:48You can bend your elbows.
11:50That will increase the sense of
11:52expansion across your chest.
11:53You know you might like that sensation.
11:56You might not.
11:57If it seems a little bit too much, you can.
12:00Bring your arms just across
12:02from your shoulders,
12:03and if that is not quite what you want to do,
12:07you can move your hands down even
12:09a little farther until you find
12:12a place where you can experience.
12:14A bit of expansion across your chest,
12:16and then you decide like do I want a
12:20little more which case I might do this.
12:24Do I want maybe a little less,
12:26in which case I do this.
12:30Feel free to take a moment to decide.
12:35And again,
12:36I'm going to sit up so I can talk to you.
12:41So finding a way to
12:50rest on your back. With
12:59uh or without support underneath your legs.
13:04Resting your head back.
13:10On a cushion or a pillow,
13:13whatever works for you.
13:16And then arranging your hands
13:18and arms in such a way that you
13:22create a little bit more space.
13:25In the area of your upper chest and heart.
13:30Periodically you might
13:32have a a you know a desire
13:38to move or re position yourself.
13:44Feel free to do that.
13:49Having preceded this pose with
13:54sandbag breathing, you might
13:59have a different relationship
14:03with the movement of your breath.
14:14Without my suggesting what you might
14:17be experiencing, notice for yourself.
14:20What you're experiencing with your breath.
14:25What are the qualities?
14:30And it might be useful to
14:36notice whether there is
14:40any tension or clenching in your jaw.
14:51Any construction or tightening
14:53across the area of your face,
14:57your forehead, your cheeks?
15:09Notice the pressure of your back
15:12body on the mat or the floor.
15:15Whatever you're resting on.
15:21And what we're doing with this type of self
15:25scan this body scan is that we're
15:29noticing those areas where we do tend
15:33to hold our reaction to whatever
15:36it is it's going on around us.
15:39So if we're startled,
15:41sometimes our shoulders will go up
15:45and will kind of pull our head back.
15:50If we're angry, we might, uh,
15:52really tense our foreheads and our jaw area.
15:57If we're sad, we might experience a
16:00hunching Oracle apps in our upper body.
16:07So it's not just
16:08your mind that you deal with
16:11from day to day in terms of
16:15emotions or stress or whatever.
16:17Your body keeps a record of these
16:21things and yoga practice is designed
16:24to help us be aware of those things
16:28so that we can take action in order
16:31to provide ourselves some relief.
16:35Begin to notice the expansion
16:40and contraction of your ribs.
16:47As you inhale, you might
16:49feel your front body,
16:51your side body, even the back of your body.
16:54Just gently expanding contracting.
16:59With your arms out to the side,
17:01it might give you a greater sense of
17:05freedom and openness in this area.
17:08Or it's possible if this area for you
17:12is where you do hold your stress or your
17:16saddness or some other emotion, uhm?
17:20It might be a little difficult or
17:23challenging to open that up because
17:26sometimes would become so adjusted.
17:28To rounding our shoulders or
17:30upper back collapsing in our upper
17:33chest that actually to expand,
17:35it can be quite challenging.
17:37So notice what your story is.
17:39Notice what your body is telling you.
17:50Be aware of your shoulder joints.
17:52If they begin to ache from the
17:54position of your arms and hands,
17:57feel free to readjust.
18:02Always mindful of your lower back
18:06and he tenderness or soreness or
18:09achiness. Feel free to adjust.
18:18The lesson here being is that we become
18:25aware. And we train ourselves.
18:28We actually train ourselves to become aware,
18:31to attend moment to moment what's happening
18:34with my body was happening with my bra.
18:37What's my mind doing?
18:39And then if that activity is not beneficial,
18:43then we do something about it.
18:46And in yoga class or relaxation
18:49classes or meditation classes we
18:52learn different kinds of techniques.
18:55For addressing those problematic things.
19:02When you ready begin to bring
19:08some movement to your body.
19:15Before we move on to
19:18our next restorative pose,
19:19which will be a gentle,
19:22very gentle hip opener,
19:23will do a little bit of lower back
19:27stretching because that is where we
19:30hold a lot of our tension and stress.
19:34So a little bit of rocking Arnie's
19:39tordsson shoulders and away.
19:42The name of this poses Oppen Ocina.
19:49And it's a lower back stretch.
19:53It's great for those times when you
19:55just been doing a lot of bending.
19:58Stretching now is the time for gardening.
20:00And as you bend over over and over,
20:03you may notice the backs of your legs.
20:06Your lower back start to get overinvolved.
20:08So this is one nice way before and
20:11after that activity to actually take
20:13care of your lower back and then
20:16maybe bring your knees together.
20:18Make some circles in One Direction.
20:21And then go in the other
20:25direction. And then just take
20:28him over to shake your toes out.
20:31Even toes can get stressed.
20:37As you're ready, you're welcome
20:40to place your feet wide under mat.
20:45And just because we're going
20:48to do a little hip opening will
20:51start with windshield wipers 2.
20:53Gonna let our hip creases are hip snow.
20:57That we're going to be doing
20:58a little more of this.
21:00So we want to do a little bit of prep
21:03work. Gently rocking from side to side. You
21:10might notice other areas also
21:12begin to get involved, so for me.
21:15That's always my thigh moving up here.
21:19A little bit in my waist
21:22as well as my hip joint.
21:25You might have those areas
21:27and also other areas.
21:32And then notice if as you're moving
21:34when you do get a lot of sensation,
21:37what happens with your breath?
21:38Does it continue to move or does it stop?
21:41Does it pause? Uh, is there a slight gas?
21:47And then come to stillness.
21:50The hip opener will do today
21:53will be a one legged hip opener.
21:57The variation on tree pose for the folks
22:00who are familiar with that yoga pose.
22:03Tree pose is normally done standing.
22:06We're going to do the reclining version
22:08of it so the light that is going to Bend.
22:12You'll want to create some prop propping
22:15there. I have a blanket and. A pillow.
22:20And I'm gonna keep this pillow under my head.
22:26This leg is going to eventually
22:28come out to rest on these props
22:30and then I have to decide what I'm
22:33going to do with the other leg,
22:35so I might try first extending that
22:38other leg and then gently rocking
22:41my other hip out to the side.
22:43If that's OK for my lower back,
22:46I can stay this way.
22:48If this seems to be too low,
22:50you can put another pillow or two pillows or
22:53whatever you need under there so you're hit.
22:56Might be quite high, which is fine.
22:59Your knee might be quite high, which is fine.
23:02We're trying not to over stress
23:05our hip joint were just opening it.
23:08It's a passive opening
23:10is completely supported.
23:12An AR lower backs are like OK with it.
23:15If your lower back is a little tweaky
23:17you could do this version of bending.
23:20The other lady still get the hip opening.
23:23But you're also releasing your lower back.
23:26So take a moment you could try.
23:29Both of those.
23:33Places are, you might have another one
23:36that you prefer and have done before.
23:39Totally fine.
23:40The most important thing is that you
23:43choose a place where you can rest.
23:46In stillness.
23:47If your body is complaining,
23:50your breath is going to be affected
23:53and your mind is going to start.
23:56Bouncing back and forth telling
23:58you I'm I'm not comfortable,
24:01I'm not comfortable.
24:02I'm not comfortable,
24:03so we wanted to try to remove all
24:06of those extra distractions so
24:08that we can rest with a smooth,
24:12deep,
24:12even continuous breath and a
24:14mind that continues to settle and
24:17quiet and become more peaceful.
24:20Then again, establishing your
24:27resting position in a way
24:35that the physical sensations
24:43are. Really minimal.
24:49Completely supporting yourself.
24:52And your body recognizes
24:55it's being supported, so
24:58it enables it to release some of the
25:03holding or effort in different areas.
25:16And once your physical body is arranged.
25:22When you're full awareness to your breath,
25:25noticing the movement of your breath.
25:27Notice your inhale. Notice your Exhale.
25:37You have a choice here to maintain
25:39your deeper diaphragmatic breath.
25:41Or you can simply allow your breath
25:43to move at its natural rhythm.
25:48Uh, maybe focusing more on making
25:52it smooth an even continuous.
25:58So not necessarily a deep
26:00diaphragmatic breath. So your choice.
26:14unusual for your mind to
26:22periodically activate. And
26:27it might. You might get sort of short
26:29bursts of thought patterns or whatever else,
26:33and then it subsides.
26:34Or something might pop up and
26:36very stubbornly stay there.
26:38So in the case of the first,
26:41actually notice whether it's just a
26:43short occurrence or a longer occurrence.
26:46If it's a short occurrence, it'll come,
26:49it'll go if it's a longer occurrence.
26:53Try shifting your attention.
26:56To your inhale and Exhale Specifically
26:59Watcher Inhale Watcher XL.
27:01Give your mind something other
27:03than worry stress. You know.
27:06Craziness to focus on and
27:08focus on something useful.
27:10Your inhale Annuar XL.
27:18You might notice that you can
27:21pull that off successfully,
27:23or maybe 2 1/2 breaths, maybe longer.
27:26And then your mind starts to activate again.
27:29Simply recognize that, oh,
27:31that's that thought again and then
27:35redirect your attention to the smooth,
27:38steady rhythm of your breath.
27:51Smooth continuous. Even breathing.
28:03Cultivating a clear, calm and tranquil mind.
28:08As you get ready to
28:17transition to the other side.
28:29So you can do it with your eyes closed.
28:32You might experiment with that.
28:35Uh, moving slowly with intention
28:38of you know maintaining.
28:42That peacefulness that.
28:46No reduced effort that
28:49we're trying to cultivate.
28:52The other side. If you like,
28:55you can do a little bit of OP and Ocina.
28:58Maybe rock from side to side.
29:01And then as your
29:02ready, once your props are in place
29:06for establish your. Reclining tree
29:13Where you place your hands really
29:15is up to you. If you like the UM.
29:19Just stretch, you know,
29:21creating space in the front of your rib cage.
29:25Your for your lungs in your heart you
29:28might extend your hands out wide if you're
29:30still working on diaphragmatic breathing.
29:32And you want to continue with that.
29:35You know your hands on your tummy is fine.
29:39For any other place that feels comfortable.
30:02It's not unusual, periodically to
30:05experience a slight released in your muscles,
30:09and as you progressively relax,
30:12your body detects because your
30:15breath is becoming smooth.
30:18An even an your mind is settling down.
30:22Your body registers all that
30:26and the message for your body
30:30is that it's safe to let go.
30:34It's safe to relax.
30:35It's safe to let down my guard.
30:40And if you do need to, if you
30:47find you need to adjust or make
30:53something different,
30:55that's completely your choice.
30:59Feel free to do that.
31:04And once your body, your physical
31:10presence is firmly established.
31:15Turn your awareness to your breath.
31:18Re establish that smooth,
31:21even continuous breath.
31:23How deep it is is your decision your choice.
31:28Once you feel that's comfortably established
31:31and it more or less happens on
31:35its own, then again elevate
31:37your attention to your mind.
31:46And again, the practices
31:49that constant awareness of
31:52what's happening physically,
31:54how breath is affected,
31:57how mind is involved.
32:00And if even with your physical body
32:04in your breath, relatively stable
32:06and relax your mind because mines,
32:09that's what mines do.
32:11That's their job is to is to work,
32:15to think, to have thoughts.
32:18But right now doesn't
32:20really need to do that so.
32:23Instead of whatever it's being distracted
32:26with or distracting itself with,
32:28give it another job,
32:30and that job is to focus
32:33on the coming and going.
32:35Watching your inhale watching
32:38your ex detail smoothing it out.
32:44Illuminating any pauses or gaps.
32:50And doing that as many times as you need.
32:55Until your mind feels. A stab Liszt in
32:58the here and now in the present moment.
33:23Smooth even continuous breathing.
33:30Cultivating a clear, calm and tranquil mind.
33:58Make a occasionally catch
34:00yourself dozing off.
34:02It's completely completely natural,
34:05specially mid afternoon.
34:08After lunch. Siesta time,
34:11but see if you can maintain
34:14your present moment.
34:16Awareness is kind of covering you know,
34:19between fully awake and falling asleep.
34:51When preparing to move on.
34:56We might like to.
34:58Start doing a little stretching
35:00or some kind of movement to
35:02come out of your hip opener.
35:05Uh, it's nice to give your knee
35:07a little bit of support as it
35:10comes out from the bend because
35:12sometimes that hip can settle
35:14a little more than we realize.
35:17So little support is always useful.
35:25And we'll move on to an inversion.
35:29So this is a very very gentle inversion.
35:33And this is different for everybody
35:36because everybody's got different
35:38types of props available.
35:40So if you have a three seater couch you
35:44might prop up those three cushions.
35:47I happen to have lovely yoga
35:50bolster which I adore and a lovely
35:53yoga blank which I equally adore.
35:57And then I have this lovely cushion
35:59from my one of my arm chairs that I.
36:03Really love because of the colour so just
36:06about as high as I think I wanna go today.
36:09You can go higher,
36:11you can go lower if you do go higher make
36:15sure that it's not going to like go over.
36:18Like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
36:21Then maybe find your lower legs.
36:25On your prop, second inversion.
36:27Going on here.
36:28Feet are off the floor and I'm
36:30gonna kind of send myself back.
36:33I'm gonna guide myself back.
36:37And make sure I have a pillow
36:40under my head. Sometimes it's nice to
36:42like roll up a towel or washcloth and
36:45put that behind the curve of your neck
36:48just under the base of your skull.
36:51That's a little extra support.
36:53And if your neck tends to be tight,
36:56or you know if that's an issue area for you,
36:59a little extra support is always nice.
37:04So once you get your, uh.
37:08The height of your props in
37:10your body settled from here.
37:12Decide what you would like to
37:14do with your hands and arms.
37:16You might be continuing to work,
37:18um, just watching your diaphragm
37:20moves and a tummy rise and fall.
37:26You might just rest your hands palms
37:29up any 68 inches away from your body.
37:36If you are uhm, you know upper body is fun.
37:40You want to continue or introduce a little
37:43bit more openness across your chest.
37:45You can try arms and hands of
37:48extending away from your shoulders.
37:51And this is fine as long as your
37:53lower back doesn't pop off the floor.
37:55So you want to make sure that
37:56your lower back is settled.
38:00And then once you settle in and take
38:06as much time as you need to do that,
38:13it can be a little awkward
38:17trying to find the stability for your prop,
38:23so feel free to. Uh, experiment?
38:28Maybe try something different.
38:30If something isn't working.
38:40So each time we transitioned with
38:43these poses, each time we move,
38:46it's not just our body that moves,
38:49we actually affect our breath pattern,
38:52so that might be another thing to
38:55include when you do transition
38:57from pose to pose is notice like
39:00what happens with your breath?
39:03Does it suddenly speed up or does it become
39:06a little more shallow or digital jerky?
39:15And because you know, it's really.
39:18Not so useful to carry that pattern
39:21into your next restorative pose.
39:24Once your body settles,
39:25then attend to your breath.
39:32Smooth. Even. Continuous.
39:41Without noise. Without cause.
39:51So the message
40:03to come out of that accelerated
40:09state. You know, fight,
40:14flight, freeze, or fawn.
40:21And now I've created this perfectly
40:24safe tranquil place for myself.
40:30So that my sympathetic nervous system,
40:33the one that reacts to everything around us,
40:37gives way to our parasympathetic
40:40nervous system that allows is
40:43to calm down to rest to digest.
40:47So that we can restore
40:52a sense of equanimity.
40:57To ourselves, physically.
40:59And mentally, emotionally.
41:03This is the greatest gift you can
41:13give yourself. Gifted relaxation
41:22I miss you. Continue
41:26along with your systematic
41:30your awareness with relaxation.
41:33You're replenishing, nourishing
41:35yourself on the minutest level.
41:40Because you've established a smooth
41:43even flow of breathing, your cells are
41:46getting the oxygen that they need.
41:52In turn, your tissues your glands.
41:57Your muscles, your organs,
42:00all replenished, all nourished.
42:25We can't continue, uh, working,
42:28functioning, fulfilling our obligations.
42:31If we're doing that with an empty,
42:36empty gas tank, basically.
42:45When we deplete ourselves.
42:49And don't take time to restore and rest.
42:53It begins to breakdown.
42:55Are tissues or muscles are organs
42:58and we become more susceptible to.
43:01Our illness and disease.
43:06But when we do take time too. Make
43:12sure that we have enough rest,
43:16relaxation breath awareness.
43:17We begin to rejuvenate, refill those
43:21reserves that have been spent.
43:28Our bodies can more efficiently
43:34remove those toxins and. Ah.
43:44Materials that our bodies no longer need.
43:55you feel ready.
44:06Take a moment. Begin
44:11to release your inversion.
44:17Gently move your props aside.
44:24And find your chair. Find
44:27the place where you plan to
44:30sit for your meditation.
45:13Take as much time as
45:21you need to get settled.
45:34So this practice is called a whore into
45:38a harness is Sanskrit word and it means
45:41to bring back and what we're doing is
45:45we're actually bringing our minds back,
45:48uh, to rest in our bodies,
45:51we tend to have a split between
45:54what our bodies are doing and
45:57what our minds are doing.
46:00So we're not always conscious of of the
46:03effect of what's going on our minds.
46:07On our bodies or was happening with our
46:10bodies, how does that affect our minds?
46:13So this particular is actually a breath
46:16practice, but it can also be considered.
46:20A meditation is meant to help to
46:22eliminate the split between those
46:25two so that your body and your mind
46:28or working seamlessly together.
46:30The secret of uniting those
46:33two is your breath so.
46:35That's where we're going.
46:37Uh, it will take about 10 minutes.
46:42And I'm going to read a
46:43little bit of a description
46:45of what we're doing before we
46:47actually start the practice.
46:50So begin by
46:51sitting in a comfortable
46:53meditative pose with your head,
46:56your neck and your trunk aligned.
47:05Begin to close your eyes.
47:09You can rest your hands either on
47:11your legs or perhaps in your lap,
47:14wherever it feels most natural.
47:20Begin to withdraw your
47:22mind from all directions.
47:28Become aware of your body.
47:31And the space that it occupies.
47:38Remind yourself that the time you've
47:41put aside for meditation is precious.
47:46Meditation is a time when you're
47:48with yourself in the present,
47:50not the past and not the future.
47:56During meditation,
47:57you're free from friends.
48:00Photos. Honor. Insult.
48:07Game. And Los. You're
48:12free of your good and bad habits.
48:16Your virtues and your vices.
48:21Remind yourself that you were born
48:24without a specific identity. Free
48:27of feelings of being rich or poor.
48:31Beautiful or ugly. You are a carefree.
48:37Innocent being. Feelings of shame
48:41and unworthiness were nonexistent.
48:46Fear and anxiety couldn't
48:48touch you. You're now
48:51meditating to restore your
48:53pure and pristine being.
49:00To begin, pay attention to your breathing.
49:06Breathe gently. Smoothly. And deeply.
49:18Don't exert yourself.
49:21Stay within your normal capacity while
49:25you take 5 to 7 smooth deep breaths.
49:31There should be no noise or
49:34jerkiness in your breath.
49:57your body and nervous
49:59system are calm and quiet.
50:02Bring your attention to
50:04the center of your forehead. Bring this
50:10center into your conscious awareness.
50:16Make sure that while attempting to
50:17focus at the center of your forehead,
50:20you're not putting any strain
50:22on your eyes. Remain relaxed.
50:28Feel your presence at the
50:30center of your forehead.
50:32And take three smooth deep breaths.
50:41Filling your presence
50:45being you're aware of only
50:52your inhalation and exhalation.
50:58'cause you're sitting
51:00comfortably with your head.
51:02Neck and trunk in a straight
51:04line and your body and nervous
51:07system or completely at rest.
51:09With your diaphragm moving effortlessly.
51:12You have no aware of the anatomical
51:16dimension of your breath.
51:19Your mind is free to feel the more subtle.
51:23Energetic counterpart of your breath
51:26at the center of your forehead.
51:33Breath and mind are fully united.
51:39While maintaining this state
51:41of awareness at the center of your forehead.
51:45Again, take three smooth deep breaths.
51:52And a breath is one. Inhale one Exhale.
51:57Now bring your attention
52:00to the center between your eyebrows.
52:04And take one deep breath.
52:08Next, bring your
52:10attention to your eyes.
52:15And take one complete breath.
52:18Move on to your nostrils. And
52:26again, take one breath gently.
52:30Smoothly and silently.
52:37You are so deeply absorbed that you
52:40have no awareness of any part of
52:43your body other than your nostrils.
52:49Next spring your attention to
52:51your throat. One full breath.
52:57Your shoulders. One full breath.
53:04Your upper arms. One full breath.
53:13Your elbows. One full breasts.
53:21Your wrists. One full breath.
53:29Your Palms. One full breath.
53:36Now bring your attention to
53:40your fingertips and take 2 deep.
53:46Relaxed breaths.
53:49Two breaths at your fingertips.
53:56Move your attention back to
53:59your poms and take one breath.
54:08Wrists. One breath.
54:17Elbows one breath.
54:25Upper arms One breath.
54:31Shoulders. One breath.
54:41Throat. One breath.
54:49Heart. One breath.
54:57Bottom of your sternum? One breath.
55:06Your navel center one breath.
55:12Your pelvis? One breath.
55:21Now bring your attention to
55:24your perineum, which is
55:27the base of your pelvis.
55:30And take two breaths at your perineum.
55:37Who's your attention? Back to
55:43your pelvis and take one breath.
55:55Your naval center. One breath.
56:02The bottom of your sternum one breath.
56:12Your heart. One breath.
56:20Your throat. One breast.
56:28Your nostrils? One breath.
56:36Your eyes. One breath.
56:43Your eyebrows center. One breath.
56:53The center of your forehead.
56:57One breast.
57:06Now bring your attention to the Crown
57:09of your head. Your Crown Center is just
57:13above the top of your head. At this center,
57:18take three to five full breaths.
57:23Enough to cultivate a
57:26significant degree of
57:28awareness at this center.
57:32Rest your
57:43awareness.
57:48At your crowd center.
58:10To release the practice, begin to be aware
58:13of the space that your body and habits.
58:20Be aware of the space around you.
58:25The room you're in.
58:30He, like you, can bring
58:33your hands together, breath
58:35them gently create a little bit of heat,
58:39and then place your palms over your eyes.
58:45Opening your eyes into your poms.
58:55The reminder that we inhabit both the
58:58outside world world inside of ourselves.
59:04Eventually bring your hands to rest,
59:06palms together in front of your chest.
59:11Take a moment to express' a sense
59:13of gratitude to yourself for coming
59:16today for this very special kind
59:18of self care. Self nourishing.
59:23Tommy Manaha Shiva Sankalpa must do.
59:25May my mind be filled
59:27with auspicious thoughts.
59:28And if you like lifting your
59:31thumbs to your forehead center,
59:33Boeing forward and gratitude for
59:35the practice of yoga nomis day.