Yin for Quiet Hips

Welcome. This is Ian for quiet hips. During the practice, your hips might feel anything but quiet. They might feel cranky, ink, achey. They might be laughing or crying, pay attention to how you feel before during and after your practice. We'll explore classic in shapes, that target the fascia around the pelvis, the hips, and the legs with the intention of creating a bit more elasticity, flexibility, and mobility.

It'll be nice to have a blanket on your mat. You might have a folded blanket to sit on, and two blocks and a bolster. We'll start in our yin butterfly shape. Join me in bringing the soles of your feet together, knees wide. And in the spirit of yin, bring your feet just slightly further away from your pelvis.

My ease from side to side. And then taking your time to slowly begin to ease your way forward and in. My lean from side to side here. And as you listen to your body in this first forward fold, you might bring support underneath your hips, your knees. You might support the weight of your head.

Allow for an inhale, nice full exhale. Notice where you can soften. The eyes, the jaw, the shoulders, the hands. Notice what you choose to do with the weight of your head. Supporting.

We're releasing. Indian yoga, we're offering ourselves to the shape passively for a length of time. With the intention of awakening, stretching, the connective tissue, and the fascia, the ligaments, and feeling and sensing the deeper bones of the body. Really exploring the the feeling from the inside out rather than the form. Exploring that appropriate edge of sensation.

You might pause at that edge. And breathe into where you feel it with each exhalation softening and releasing slowly deeply into the shape. As we round the back, we are decompressing the spine. But for any reason, if you'd like to support and lift the weight of the head, Please do so. Feel how as the bones drop, The lower belly can soften and the sacrum can open widen.

It's believed that the fascia responds to long, passive holds, bringing synovial fluid or juice back into the tissues. To support and allow for elasticity, flexibility, and a bit more mobility through the body, through the joints, the tissues. Noticing what feels real and true for you. Take your time to slowly round. And roll your way up. Like, you're moving through honey.

Very slow, melty. Taking a moment to pause. And then supporting your knees with your hands, you might lean back casually and free the legs. A little side to side for the hip joints might feel nice. Movement for the spine might feel good, especially after the long, passive holds. From here, we'll move a bit deeper into our hips.

And I'll demonstrate two possible options depending on what works best for your body. So one is a figure four shape. And for this, I'll work with two blocks underneath the foot. You roll on to your back, bring your left foot onto the blocks, and then bring your right ankle across your left thigh. Just wanna find the right amount of sensation for your right hip. And with the support of the blocks, the arms can release here.

You can adjust the support underneath that left foot. So this is one possible shape for your hip. Another option is to transition up, can bring the blocks off to the side, and move towards a sleeping swan. You might know this as pigeon in your practice. The heel can be closer or further away from your back hip.

Depending on your hip joints, depending on the anatomy of your bones, you might bring support underneath your your hip. You might bring a bolster, a blanket out in front of you. I'm just taking your time to slowly ease in finding your shape and finding that appropriate edge of sensation where you pause. Notice what you choose to do with the weight of your head, softening the jaw. We're looking to target the hip rather than the knees.

So if you're feeling any pain, any pinching in the knee or around the joint, You might find another shape. You might find a bit more support so that you can really feel and sense the stretch, the sensation through the hip. Again, in the spirit of yin, allow the muscles to soften around the bones. You'll have a bones can drop and yield towards the earth. Breathing into the shape, breathing into sensation.

Whotis where you can relax any muscular effort. Ealing and sensing the bones, the fascia ligaments. Option to stay where you are longer or slowly. Easing your way up and out. Find a slow, safe, exit route for your hip and knee.

If you're in the sleeping swan, you might tuck your back toes under release the back leg. You might pause for a moment in a child's pose. I love to transition onto the back. In the shape of Shavasana for just enough time to feel sense and track the results. Feeling and resting in the space you've cultivated through the hip and down through the leg, healing and sensing the flow.

Yenergy, a life force, Malal for an inhale. Exhale everything. And as you feel ready, second side, figure four on the other side, or maybe you're transitioning, into your sleeping swan, opposite leg forward and finding the right amount of support on this side underneath a hip or out in front of you. Might allow for an inhale. Nice full exhale.

I'm just allowing the breath to guide you from within. Really softening melting from the inside out. Again, we're offering ourself to the shape passively. In the spirit of Yin. Right? Yin is quiet.

Yin is still call, grounding, hidden, feminine, intuitive, dark, lunar, passive, receptive. And you need to notice where you can soften any tension. Joth throat. Shoulders, hands. Really honoring your timing.

You feel ready. Taking your time to slowly ease your way up. And then finding again a slow safe halfway out of the shape. You might pause if you're in the sleeping swan for a moment in child's pose. You might pause in the shape of Shavasana, which is my personal favorite. Really taking up space, arms and legs wide, and just rest in the spaciousness through the hips.

In a moment of physical and maybe even mental relief, allow for an inhale. Nice full exhale. If you're supine on your back, you might just take a moment and transition to draw your knees into your chest. You might roll to your side or rock your way up. We're gonna find a symmetrical shape in dragonfly.

You might bring a bolster, out in front of you and sit on a blanket. Gonna bring our legs wide here. Finding the right amount of support underneath you, out in front of you, you might stay upright with your hands behind you. This might be flavorful enough for your hamstrings, your hips. As you listen inwardly for guidance, you might be drawn, inspired to ease your way forward.

Again, finding that appropriate edge of sensation. Notice what you choose to do with the weight of your head. Notice what you choose to do with your arms. Now as you feel that edge of sensation, that intensity, maybe through the inner groin, the hamstrings, the back of the knees, up through the spine. Can you play with really dropping into and feeling the bones?

You know how you can kinda consciously relax some of the muscular effort through the front of the legs. The ankles, the soles of the feet. And again, noticing how the shape, how the feeling changes with time here. And if at any point in your practice, if it feels like it's too much, it is. So trust the feeling. If the breath is short, shallow, Okay. You might ease your way up and out or find a bit more support or a bit more space.

Well, if it feels like you've just arrived, You're welcome to stay longer, of course. When you feel ready to transition, slide your hands underneath you, chin into the chest, slowly ease your way. Pause. Yeah. Nice work.

You can bring the bolster off to the side if you'd like to. I'm gonna move even deeper into our hips, so I'll demonstrate three possible shapes. And feel into what makes sense for your anatomy, your hip joints. One option is a shoelace pose stacking one knee over the other. I like to sit up on support for this.

Depending on your anatomy, you might have the feet further away. It might feel better for your knees and hips to have your feet closer in. You might stay upright or ease your way forward as you need to feel more sensation. It's Second option is to find a square pose or a box pose, ankle over knee, knee over ankle. For this shape, you usually like a block.

Underneath the hip between the hip and the knee. Again, option to stay upright or ease your way forward. Third option is a simple sukhasana, Shindashin. And easing your way into the fold. Okay. So maybe one of those three shapes.

Choosing mindfully as you listen to your hips and knees. Finding that edge of sensation. Inhale. Exhale to ground through the sitting bones. And only as it feels right, and you need more sensation. You might ease your way forward.

Again, you might keep your head where it is. You might support the weight of your head. You might surrender and release the weight of your head. It will depend on your cervical spine. How your neck feels.

Notice the quality through your hands. Palms might be facing down towards the earth or up. Be softening through the shoulders, the jaw. Inhale. It's grounding exhale.

Using yourself the permission to allow for movement, adjustments, changing your mind. It's all a part of the process. So finding what feels right for you, meeting yourself wholeheartedly in the moment. With as much patience and compassion as possible. Now we're approaching three minutes, which may have felt like eternity for your hips and legs.

In your own time, just slowly easing your way up, pause and carefully free your legs, stretch your legs out. Might lean back. Whose side to side might feel really good. Sometimes the movement in between the long passive holds can feel very kind for the joints and the tissues. Sliding the blood and the energy flow.

Nice. Second side. Again, you might find shoelace stacking the knees. You might find box pose or square or a simple sukhasana, shindoshan, opposite leg on top. Feeling into the structure of your bones, your hips, finding the right amount of support and space for your body.

Can you mind stay upright or ease your way forward? Malal for an inhale, x sail and play with, again, letting the muscles soften around the bones, relaxing the muscular effort. You know how the This sitting bones can ground as you exhale. The belly can soften. The sacrum can widen.

Breathing into the shape. And perhaps allowing the mind to rest for a few moments. Easing into the equality of stillness. You are welcome to stay longer. It feels like it's time very tenderly. He's your way up.

Take a moment, pause. And then unwind your legs. Again, lean back free the legs. A little side to side might feel really good. From here, we'll play with a symmetrical shape called frog, and I'll demonstrate different variations within frog.

You might open your blanket up, bring your blanket like so. So you have some support on the inner legs. In her knees. Now in frog, the knees go wide. Couple options here as you rest on your hands for a moment.

Now the big toes might touch as you draw your hips back. You might stay on your hands, you might release to your forearms. Depending on your anatomy, your bones, your joints, you might choose to stack your ankles over your knees. So they're in alignment. As you sink into the hips, the inner leg lines, the groins. So again, option here or here, if the shape doesn't feel right for your body, you might roll onto your back and find a happy baby.

Option to work with a bolster if you'd like in your frog. Finding the placement of your ankles, your feet. Finding the placement of your arms. Notice what you choose to do with the weight of your head. Allow for an inhale exhale softening the jaw.

If an ass you don't feel a stretch in this shape, you can play with drawing your hips back towards your feet. You can play with the position of your feet. Yeah. And the two main ingredients of the in practice time and gravity, offering ourself to the shape passively for length of time. And allowing gravity to assist in this process of deepening.

Any point, if your inner knees or knee joints are cranky, can make some adjustments with your feet, with your body. You are welcome to stay here longer. It feels like a little bit of an inner joke when you feel ready to ease out of this intensity. You might come up onto your hands. Now two exit routes from this shape.

One might be a child's pose, drawing your knees slowly together. Oh, drawing your hips back towards your heels. Another option. Bring your bolster if you have one off to the side and transition crown onto the belly. Oh, finding a bit of that internal hip rotation can feel nice.

He sure does for me after that and a little shimmy from side to side with the hips can feel nice. And in your own time, just transition on to your back. And have a block nearby. Let's take a moment to draw the knees into the chest and rock from side to side. And then grounding the feet, knees bent. We'll find a supported bridge with the block.

Maybe at the lowest setting. And just slide the block underneath your pelvis. Making those adjustments. And then, ah, feeling the support under the sacrum, feel the weight of your pelvis drop. This offering some support here, receiving the support, and balancing the hips.

You might choose to keep your knees bent to your feet on the earth. You might experiment with stretching your legs long or wide. It'll depend on the feeling through your lower back. Allowing yourself to be guided from within. Really trusting the feeling.

The sensation over the form, over what it looks like. You might stay where you are a bit longer. You feel ready, bend the knees, ground the feet, press down, lift up, and remove the block. We'll set up for a a spinal twist, The house suggestion is an eagle wrap twist, but you might find something else. It'll just depend on what feels right for you.

For the eagle wrap, we'll wrap the top left leg over the bottom. And then roll to your right side, stack your hips and your shoulders. And then you might circle or open your top left arm. Option to stretch your left arm out to the side or option to bend your elbow and bring the back of your head to your hand. A little different variation here. Inhale, exhale, softening the belly.

Now it is what you choose to do with the weight of your head, with the position of your head. Notice how the shape and the sensation changes and transforms with time. Again, allowing for any movements, any adjustments. And then you might play towards some stillness. Really dropping in.

No. It is the quality of the breath. When in your own time, just slowly unwind, reorganize your pelvis. You might pause at a constructive rest. You might pause with your legs open wide, long on the earth.

Cosmic starfish. Inhale. Exale everything. Second side, finding your twist. If you're finding the eagle wrap, wrap the top right leg over the bottom.

Rolling on to your left side, stacking the hips and the shoulders, top right arm circles to open. And the arm might stretch out long. You might support the back of your head, opening up through the shoulder. This can have a different feeling, a different flavor through the shoulder, the ribs. The fascia in the upper body that we don't typically target in the in practice.

Inhale, exhale to soften. Feel how the back of the right lung and shoulder blade and, a drop towards the earth. Heiding your awareness, come back to the breath. And in your own timing, this slowly unwind, releasing the arm, unwrap the legs. Oh, reorganize your pelvis, your spine.

You might draw your knees into your chest. One last time. And if there's any movement that would feel good here as you ease into Shavasana or a seated meditation, please take your time. If you're moving into Shavasana, you might bring your bolster under your legs, stretch your legs long on the earth. And if you're transitioning to a seat Take your time, roll to your side, pause, curl up. Easing your way out to a seat.

Allow for an inhale. Exale, everything. Yeah. Resting in the spaciousness and your being noticing any subtle shifts from the beginning of your practice to now. Rest in the experience of being here. Now this embodied awareness, this embodied presence.

Soft, spacious, receptive. Now as you exhale again to ground, just allow your awareness to gently expand. Feeling your energy, your presence, you radiate. Might stay where you are longer, and join your hands together. Breathing in.

Breathing out. Namaste. Thank you for your practice.