Slow Unfolding

Nava's day, everyone. Welcome to a slow unfolding. This is a deeply restorative class. We're gonna spend most of our time on our backs. For class today, grab a bolster, a block. If there's anything else that you would like to grab for extra support, you can do that as well.

When you're ready, start on your back, please. Place both feet on the mat. So that your knees are bent. This gives your lower back plenty of support. And in this class, we want to feel that support.

Wanna feel held. Let one hand rest over your belly and place the other one on top of that hand. So you have two hands resting on the belly. You can close your eyes when you're ready. And draw your attention now to the opening of your nostrils, so towards the breath, inhaling, filling the belly.

So noticing your hands rising where your belly is where your hands are located. And as you exhale, notice that it contracts the belly rises on an inhale. It expands. It gets bigger. And it contracts on an exhale.

And so inhaling, maybe counting your breath up to four. One, two, three, four, holds. As you exhale, count backwards from the number five, five, four, three, two, one. And you'll continue on your own with this breath count. In for four, out for five. Beautiful.

Rest both hands alongside your body, cross your right ankle over your left thigh. You're welcome to stay right here. Just enjoying the opening of the right inner thigh, or you can take thread the needle. I'm gonna clasp in front of my left shin today. So it just depends how open you feel how tight your hips are.

You're slightly drawing that left knee in towards you and more towards the left shoulder versus the center of your chest. In hell for four, exhale for five. Set your left foot on the mat. And draw your right knee in towards your chest. Go ahead and extend the left leg long. When you extend your left leg, flex your left foot.

So that leg feels like it's anchoring onto the earth. You could even flex your right foot and draw that right knee in towards you a little bit closer. Just applying gentle pressure onto the right side of the abdomen. Letting this be a slow unfolding release of stress. Place your left palm on top of your left thigh just to encourage that thigh to stay rooted, guide your right knee and shin over to the right.

Breathing in for four. Breathing out for five. We're gonna place that right foot into the left inner thigh. So it's like you're just doing a tree pose lying down on your back. And notice if the left side of your hip is starting to lift as you do that, can you keep the left side of your leg and your hip grounded. Reach both arms towards the ceiling, interlace your fingers, flip your palms to the ceiling and just pause here for a beat.

If you want to take your arms back behind you, you can and just get an added stretch through all four sides of your waist. Take it deep inhale flexing through your left foot. Draw on your tailbone forward, keeping the lower back long as you stretch. Then exhale, bring your arms back over, grab ahold of your right knee, draw it back towards center. Extend the right leg long and bring your left knee into your chest.

Good. You're gonna bend your right knee, take thread the needle with your left ankle over your right thigh. Choose if you wanna bring your left arm through the leg, interlacing either behind the right thigh or in front of the right shin, really honoring where you are at in your hips today. And letting that space open up through your breath coming back to inhaling for four, exhaling for five. Lower your right foot to the mat. Grab a hold of that left shin as you draw your left knee towards the body, towards the upper body.

Extend your right leg long one more time, flex that right foot, feel the inner part of your right leg, spin towards the earth. Take those deep, full breaths. Place your right hand over your right thigh, anchor that right thigh to the mat as you draw your left knee and shin towards the left. Inhale for four. Exhale for five.

Place your left foot in that tree pose. So you're in a Rick Shasana here flexing your right foot still. Imagine you're standing on that right foot. Both arms towards the ceiling interlace your fingers. Maybe the opposite, indexes in front, flip your palms to the sky, And on your next inhale reach back, soften your floating ribs, draw your two hip points, the hip points up towards those floating ribs.

Keeping your low back spacious, inhale here, and exhale arms back up. Bring your left knee back to center and hug both knees into your chest. Coming into happy baby pose, grabbing a hold of the outer parts of your feet. And really, like, you wanna kick your heels to the ceiling. Almost as though you can push the ceiling away if you're inside or heels to the sky, drawing the knees towards the earth. If you can't grab your feet, grab your ankles or your shins, press the low back down.

Take one more breath. Exale all the breath out. Lower your heels back to the sit bones, hug the knees into the chest for Apanasana. And just roll either to the side or up and down gently making your way to a seated pose. So we're gonna use the props here for UPA Vista Kunasana.

And I love to use a bolster in this position. It just offers a little more support. So before we go into it, take your feet out wide as wide as they can go. You don't want to force yourself into this position. And then you could take your bolster.

Either it's going to lay flat or raise it up. I have to raise mine up. So my legs are more of like 60 degrees, maybe yours are at 45 or a little wider, regardless. We're not comparing here. So just sit up nice and tall, ground your sit bones, lift your chest, inhale.

And as you exhale, start to walk your hands forward, as you start to rest your chest over the bolster, and maybe you can't get to the bolster, and that's okay. Your hands are here for support. But if you're able to get to the bolster, you can hold it. Interlace your fingers to the front of the bolster, drawing the bolster right up against the torso. And coming back here to the breath in hell for four.

Exhale for five. And pay attention to If there is any forcing happening, if you're really pushing your way down to the bolster, let your breath guide you there. So we inhale up to four. You might find, at this point, perhaps your exhales can go a little longer. So try exhaling out for six.

Feeling that slow unfolding, slow unraveling of the muscles, the connective tissues, around the muscles, tension being released from the body. Take one more breath. And from here, slowly rise up. Move your bolster over to the sides, take your hands under your knees, pull the knees up for bada konasana. So join the soles of your feet together.

And slide your heels in. If that feels too tight for you, pull the heels forward. So as your heels go in, it just is going to give you more of a stretch. Your thumbs are gonna hold on to the arches of your feet. The sides of the feet connect together.

It's like you're holding a book, opening a book, inhale here, reach your chest up, root the sit bones down, and lead with your heart as you exhale, folding forward, perhaps even feeling the support of the bolster from a moment of go, just that imprint of the bolster beneath the torso, So feeling that and inviting that here that you are supported and helped, let the breath do the opening here. So inhaling again for four letting it out for six. Elbows are relaxed here, not playing a role and pressing the knees towards the earth. So the breath is really doing the work. It is the guiding teacher here, exhaling longer than the inhale, relaxing again, the connective tissues around the muscles.

One more breath. And inhale come on up. Across your right shin in front of the left. So coming into sukhasana. Reach both arms towards the ceiling, take a deep breath through your sit bones, and on your exhale twist just slightly towards the right, you'll bring your right hand behind you and your left hand on top of your right knee.

In held for length. One, two, three, four. And try not to engage in this twist. Let the exhale do the twisting. So out for six. Feel the abdomen contract just like you did earlier in class.

And as your abdomen contracts, the rib cage on the right moves to the back and the rib cage on the left moves to the front. One more breath If you're looking to the right, look forward, unwind, switch the crossings of the shins, left in front of right, and now reach up, breathe in, and exhale twist slightly towards the left, just a gentle twist, left hand goes behind your right hand to the knee. Inhale lengthen. And exhale for six, letting the abdomen contract, it draws slightly back towards the spine, encouraging the twist in the ribcage. One more.

Beautiful. And then look forward. Unwind, and let's set up for our Shavasana. So grabbing your bolster, placing it right underneath the knees. If you need anything under your head, you're welcome to put a blanket there, a pillow, Again, I'm always for more support versus less.

So your bolster is right. I would say more underneath the thighs and just under the knees. So raise it up higher to give your lower back more support. And then when you're comfortable, you'll let your arms rest alongside your body and come into this well deserved Shavasana. Just take a moment to notice the different touch points in the back body that are making contact with the surface beneath you. Placing your body in a special way.

Start to release your breath control. No more counting of the breath. And imagine that every XL is an invitation to let the weight of your body completely surrender towards the earth. Allow the whole front side of your body to relax, especially the muscles around the naval. Let the abdomen relax completely.

Soften your eyelids as they shut. Shavasana. Start to notice your breath again. Reaving in more deeply, feeling your belly, whole body expand with breath. And exhale in completely.

Move the toes and fingers. Spend your knees and make your way to a seated pose. You can roll over to one side. And make your way back up to Sukhasana, where we'll end our practice here together, joining the palms at your heart and just rubbing your hands, inviting bigger movements. Pause with your hands in front of your heart, bow your chin, honoring this practice that truly is a gift guiding us from darkness to light, from any confusion to more clarity, and from inner chaos to inner peace.

Deep inhale through your nose. Full exhale, namaste.