November 15, 2023 • 40 mins
Ever felt like you needed some extra TLC for your upper back, neck, and shoulders? You're not alone. Come along as I guide you through an enriching somatic session, inspired by Feldenkrais method.
This is a sublime practice that will not only bring a peaceful awareness to these often cranky areas, but also provide some valuable somatic learning. Healthy human movement is variable, and the most sophisticated movers have the capacity to move globally. This practice will help you to cultivate both for comfortable movement and posture.
You will need a blanket and a bolster or pillow.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Yin Yoga Podcast.
I'm your host, mandy Ryle.
Today's episode is a podpractice where I will be
teaching you a modifiedFeldenkrais method lesson.
This is a lesson that I usequite a bit with clients and it
(00:22):
also happens to be one of mypersonal favorites.
If you're someone who sometimessuffers from some stiffness or
even pain in the upper, back orneck area, this is a practice
that I really want for you totake note of, because what I
have seen in my clients is thata practice like this, of course
(00:45):
blended with other customizedpractices, can really really
help to improve your experienceof these tissues, not only to
find a really peaceful awareness, but also to improve your
movement.
So that's what we'll be talkingabout specifically in this
practice is adding morevariability to your movement and
(01:06):
making it more global.
So this is a really valuableepisode and I think it'll make a
big difference for you ifyou've got a little bit of
discomfort in this area.
As always, thank you so so muchfor being a listener to the Yin
Yoga podcast.
If you haven't already, pleasejust take a second before the
(01:27):
episode starts to hit subscribeand, if it is available in your
podcast app, definitely opt-infor alerts so you never mess a
future episode In this practice.
You will definitely need ablanket for your head.
That's gonna be reallyimportant and also I think I'd
(01:49):
like for you to have a bolster,or even just a pillow, for the
single Yin pose in the wholepractice which you'll take at
the very end.
(02:10):
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you to consider becoming apatron.
Patrons support the greatpractices and education on the
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library.
In my online community, theShift School, my practice
library contains a huge varietyof movement, mindfulness,
(02:33):
strength and even meditationpractices.
The library is searchable forpain care practice resources to
address the most commonmusculoskeletal pain issues,
including back pain, neck andshoulder pain and hip pain.
The Yin teachers out there willlove a newly added feature the
experiential anatomy practicesection, where you get to dive
(02:56):
into learning anatomy throughyour very own body and breath.
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I'll leave a link in the shownotes for you to get started.
(03:19):
So let's get started.
I'm gonna have you roll ontoyour back with your head resting
on that blanket and have yourlegs either extended out long or
feet flat, whatever is morecomfortable for you.
Let your arms just come to aresting position.
(03:39):
For some people that's out tothe side, for some people that's
on you, maybe hands resting onyour belly.
Take a moment just to breathe,feel yourself breathing here on
your back and as you'rebreathing and you're becoming
(04:06):
more aware of your body, here inthis moment, in this space, in
this position, you might noticealready that there is some
discomfort, something that ifyou were not being objective,
you would say you don't like,something you wish wasn't there.
(04:30):
And I will ask you instead justto observe these things with
curiosity.
Let's not call it good or bad,let's not spin up stories about
where it came from or what kindof problems it may cause for the
rest of the day.
(04:51):
Let's just observe it, which,by the way, is not easy.
It's a practice, and ever sogently, the next time you
(05:12):
breathe in, I'd like for you topress the back of your head into
the blanket.
You may feel your chest rise abit and then, on your exhale,
just relax Again.
I'll have you press the back ofyour head just gently into the
(05:32):
blanket and see if you can comeup with a comprehensive effort
the back of your neck, perhapsthe shoulders, and then release
on your exhale.
Okay, press into the back ofyour head, breathe in, make it
comprehensive, although youmight already find that one side
wants to work a little bitharder, that's normal, it's okay
(05:55):
and rest.
We're just going to do one more.
Try to make it comprehensive,right, left, up, down, all of it
.
Inhale, chest may rise,pressing the head, and then
relax.
I know that for many of you outthere with neck issues, that is
(06:16):
not the most comfortable thingto do, so well done.
Now I'd like for you to ever sogently, just turn your head
side to side.
Let's not push into anythingright now.
If you're familiar at all withmy approach, you know that I'm
not really into stretching,especially the neck.
(06:37):
I feel like these tissues arealready way too cranky for us to
go in with a big stretch.
So instead I'm just going tohave you find a nice soft,
peaceful turn side to side.
Now give you bonus points ifyou can find a way to use your
(06:58):
breath in a way that feelssupportive, and the reason
you're going to get bonus pointsfor that is because I'm not
going to tell you what to do.
I want you to experiment.
You may already be aware thatturning your head to one side is
(07:19):
easier, almost like your headis going downhill that way, and
turning to the other side it'salmost like uphill.
Why is it so much effort, whoknows?
Let's not spin up stories aboutit.
Okay, the next time your face isturned to the right, I'd have
(07:42):
you keep it there just for abreath or two and in your mind's
eye, create a fun image of yourcervical vertebra.
Those are the vertebra of yourneck, the neck bones turning,
twisting, and then, as you turnyour face back up to the center,
(08:03):
see if in your imagination youcan see them unrotate.
Let's turn back to the rightrotating, and you'll notice that
some vertebra turn a lot, right, even in your imagination.
In some turn a little.
That's okay.
They don't all go at the samerate, to the same degree.
(08:25):
That's the magic of your spine.
Turn your head to the centerand then once again to the right
, feel vertebra turning and ifyou feel any discomfort or
resistance there again, just becurious about it.
This time, when your face turnsback up, you're going to turn
(08:46):
back to the right, and I wantyou to notice also that it's not
a pure rotation of thesevertebra.
There's a little side bending,like your right ear is getting
closer to your right shoulder.
It's not a pure side bend,there's a twist.
This is normal.
Let your face rest, turn to theside and the side bend the
(09:11):
twist, take a breath and thenback.
You go to the middle.
Take a moment just to observethe right and the left side of
your neck Probably feelsdifferent.
Right, maybe one side feelsmore stirred up, maybe it feels
(09:34):
more sensitive, maybe what youfeel is more energy.
Now turn your face to the leftand back up to the center.
Turn your face to the left,nice and soft, no need to
(09:55):
stretch here and back to thecenter.
Now conjure that image in yourimagination of your vertebra
twisting, each in their ownunique and special way and
probably differently from theway they behaved when you turned
(10:16):
to the right.
Do a couple more and in yourimagination you could just
imagine some regular oldVertebra, if you know what those
look like, but I wouldn'trecommend it.
Instead, use your imagination.
Maybe you've got colors, maybesparkles, maybe your vertebra
(10:42):
are made of clouds.
Next time you turn your face tothe left.
Keep it, hold there, justnotice what, if any side bend is
here.
So it's not just rotating, it'salso your chin dropping, is it
(11:04):
not A combination of rotationand side bending?
Take a breath here and thencome back to the middle, notice,
(11:26):
notice left, and once againturn your face a little bit side
to side, just a little bit.
We're going to go right andleft.
Maybe in your imagination againyou can see those cloud
(11:47):
vertebra or those sparklevertebra rotating each in their
own way, side to side.
I wonder if you can notice thatthe rotation is not only in the
back of the neck.
Right.
You probably feel some rotationlower, maybe all the way down
(12:10):
to the place where your back istouching the floor, or maybe not
.
Maybe it's in that place whereyour upper back is sort of
becoming your neck, or your neckis becoming your upper back.
So see if you can identify howlow those vertebra, those cloud
(12:33):
or sparkle vertebra, twist.
And is it the same on the rightand the left?
What about the side bend?
How far down does the side bendoccur?
(13:08):
And the next time your face isback up in the middle, you're
going to stay.
Notice, not just the neck thistime, but the right and the left
side of the upper back.
Maybe there's more energy onone side.
Now I'll have you push downinto your feet so that you can
(13:34):
lift your hips, shift them tothe left and roll over onto your
right side and make yourblanket thick enough that your
head isn't kind of fallen offright, that you've got like your
head on the very same plane asthe rest of your spine, and make
(13:55):
sure that the blanket under youhas a lot of space
latitudinally, because your headis going to be rolling side to
side and I don't want you tofeel like you're going to fall
off.
Okay, now roll enough onto yourside that you can place your
left palm onto your right palmand then make your wrist and
(14:16):
your left hand so soft you mighteven curl up your left fingers
a little bit.
Leave your right hand softly inplace, but gently lift your
left hand away from your righthand.
And here's where you're goingto do something really important
.
You're going to tether the tipof your nose to your left thumb
(14:38):
and then let that left hand comeback down and see if your nose
will follow.
Now the left hand is going tocome up a little bit higher and
your nose will follow your eyesas well.
Keep your eyes open and thenyour left hand just settles into
your right hand.
Come up even higher.
Now I want you to notice thatat some point to come up higher,
you had to rotate your upperback, so it's not just the arm
(15:04):
lifting as you come up, yourface follows your thumb, which
means that you're rotating otherparts of your spine as well,
and it's almost like theshoulder sort of helps with
maybe the first six to 10 inches, and then the back, the spine
(15:27):
takes over.
I wonder if you can feel thatthe spine takes over and the
whole time the eyes are open andtrained on that left thumb.
Take your time, go nice and slow, and now that I've given you
all of these instructions, Iwant to let you know that you
can't do this wrong.
(15:48):
Take your time the next timeyour left hand is on your right
hand, rest, and then let'scommit to softness.
Commit to softness and committo variation.
So rather than thinking, oh, Ihave to do this right, am I
doing it right?
Thinking I have to do it thesame exact way every time, to do
(16:10):
it right, I want you to thinkabout can I do it a little bit
differently each time, like,maybe the sequence of rotation
for my vertebra is altered eachtime.
Maybe I'm going to use my hipto slide back rather than just
making it a function of my spine.
(16:31):
Perhaps, as my hand lifts, I'lleven let my left knee lift and
hip left hip slide back.
Okay, good, next time that lefthand is resting, I'm gonna have
you keep it there and I'm gonnaadd on.
So your knees are gonna bestill bent at the joint, so that
(16:56):
you have a 90 degree anglebetween your shin and your thigh
.
The only difference is you'regonna reduce the angle at your
hip by sliding your feet back.
So your left feet, your feet,are gonna slide back.
What would be to the left, Isuppose.
So your knees are now pointedtoward the front of your mat and
, instead of being bent at yourhips, you're mostly straight,
(17:19):
although most of us will have alittle bit of a pike in our hips
.
Okay, so your body is in kindof a straight line, except that
your knees are bent and yourfeet are maybe even off of the
mat behind it, so that you'vegot a little kickstand.
Now let's do this again.
So it's the same exact thing,the thought that eyes, the nose
(17:39):
follow the left hand as it comesup the left hip.
This time is gonna have toslide back right, and then
you'll be glad that your rightfoot is on the floor, otherwise
you would just tip right over.
Yeah, now rest as soon as theleft hand touches down onto the
right.
Rest and then do it again.
Commit to softness andvariation.
(18:02):
And when we bring the knees topoint to the back or the front
of the mat, I should say what weend up with are conditions that
require a bit more rotation inthese areas where we tend to get
a little tight, where we havesoreness or pain or trouble.
(18:30):
Good, next time, that left handis up toward the sky you're
looking at it with your eyes.
You're just gonna hold, andthen I'm gonna have you look
with your eyes behind your leftshoulder, turn your chin behind
your left shoulder and reachyour left hand to the right,
like it's thinking about comingback down, but your face is
(18:51):
looking back, so it can't.
And then you can do theopposite.
Your left hand is going toreach back, your face is gonna
turn to the right, so the armand the face are moving in
opposite directions.
Now bring your left hand to theright and your face to the left
.
Notice that your left hipprobably wants to go with your
(19:14):
face.
So as your left arm reachesback up and then comes back,
your face turns right.
Let your hip close toward thefloor in front of you so your
hip and your face move togetherand your left arm and left
shoulder are moving inopposition.
(19:34):
Let's do this a few more times.
Face looks away, left armreaches back, hip forward, face
and hip move back, arm moveforward.
Let's just right and left right, not up and down.
Left arm reach back, face andhip turn to the right.
(19:56):
Left arm reach to the right.
Hip and face go left one more.
One more notice there's alittle bit of a back bend.
Is that arm reaches back thistime?
Let it reach its fullexpression.
And then left arm to the right,face, hip to the left.
(20:19):
Notice your spine almost wantsto round, especially the upper
back.
Let it.
And then last time, left armmove back, face and hip move
right.
Find that back bend like youjust want to arch and stretch
out a little bit and then keepyour arm reaching back and turn
(20:41):
to your back, bringing your twofeet flat.
Let your arms just rest, feetflat or legs long, and take a
moment to observe the right andthe left, right and left neck,
right and left spine, so youmight notice that you feel a
little bit different on theright and the left.
Maybe one side feels bigger,maybe it feels higher or maybe
(21:09):
both sides feel even heavy orfloating.
Now let's do the second side.
So you're going to push downinto your feet, lift your hips,
shift them to the right and thenroll over onto your left side.
(21:31):
Your left arm is going to bereaching out in front of you.
Your knees are going to bestacked and pointed also to the
left.
Your blanket will be thickenough to support your head and
make sure there's space toeither side of your head for
when you roll.
And now take this soft righthand and rest it into the palm
(21:52):
of the left hand.
Your eyes are wide open, you'restaring at your right thumb.
So as your right thumb, as yourright hand lifts away from the
left hand, your eyes, your face,your collarbone follow the hand
and then bring the right handback down, rest it.
Let's do it again, so thatright hand rises up, eyes follow
(22:18):
and then it comes back downSoft, rest with your right hand
on your left hand.
Commit to a soft elbow, a softshoulder.
Eyes follow, thumb, come upmaybe a little bit more each
time, that wrist, that elbow,that hand, the fingers
(22:39):
themselves soft.
Take a full and complete rest.
Each time your right hand landsin your left hand, eyes follow,
and you may be noticing at acertain point that it's less
about the shoulder and moreabout your spine.
And if it's about your spine,as your arm reaches up more and
(23:01):
more, your right hip is probablytilting back, your right knee
is probably drawing away fromyour left knee.
That doesn't happen becauseyou're manipulating the leg, but
because the hip, the knee arerelaxed and they're just going
with the spine, the pelvis, theneck, everything together.
(23:28):
What we notice a lot in peoplewho have a musculoskeletal pain
issue is that their movementstend to become very rigid.
So, while normal human movementis extremely variable, when
we've had a pain issue for awhile, it starts to get stuck,
(23:50):
like there's really only one wayto do it.
And when that happens, oftenwhat we're finding is that the
movement has become extremelyisolated, ironically to the
place where the pain seems to bethe greatest.
And so this kind of movementhelps you teach your nervous
system to move globally.
(24:11):
Okay, the next time your righthand rests in your left hand,
just stay.
Rest for a moment and thenyou're going to keep your feet
together, keep your kneestogether, keep your knees bent
at exactly this angle, but slideyour knees so that they're
(24:34):
pointed toward the front of yourmat, so your head is on the
back of your mat, your kneespoint to the front of your mat,
your feet are on the floorslightly behind the long edge of
your mat, so your waist isstraight, your hips are straight
, no longer flexed, althoughperhaps slightly piked, and
(24:54):
we're going to do the same exactthing.
So the eyes follow the thumb.
Right arm rise as far asvertical let's not go much
higher than vertical and thenthe right hand come back down
resting in the left hand.
Let's do that a few more times.
You might notice now thatthere's a little bit more
(25:16):
rotation required in your spine,especially in this thoracic
area where we can get so tight,and the effort of turning your
head has now become a full bodyeffort, no longer isolated but
global, recruiting all of thesystems of the body.
(25:44):
All right, next time your rightarm is vertical, you're going
to keep it.
Keep those eyes on the handjust for a brief moment more.
Your right knee may have evenlifted away from the left knee,
your hip kind of tilted back.
Now try this turn your facemore to the right and reach your
(26:06):
right hand to the left.
So we're going opposite withthe face and the hand, and then
reach your right arm back up andthen back to the right, turn
your face to the left, let yourhip and your face go together to
the left Right arm, reach leftface, hip, turn right.
(26:27):
Probably that right knee iskind of moving around right and
then you're going to open yourright arm up, reaching to the
right, turn your face and yourhip to the left.
Remember, you can't really dothis wrong.
So if there's another strategythat you're finding interesting
or effective, I 100% support youin your autonomy for exploring
(26:55):
that.
But if you're looking forsomething maybe a little more
harmonious, I would recommendthat the hip and the face go
together and the arm moveopposite.
Now, next time that right armreaches to the right face and
hip to the left, find a littleback, bend, arching your spine,
maybe sliding your head back alittle bit on your blanket, and
(27:18):
then when your right hand movesleft, your face and your hip
move to the right.
Let your right hand reach evenmore to the left, like you kind
of want to round your upper back, okay.
So right arm reach to the right, hip and face go to the left.
Find a little back bend, maybesliding the head back, and then
(27:41):
right arm reach, left hip, facego right, maybe round your back
a little bit by reaching thatright hand a little further to
the left.
Last time we're opening.
So your right arm open, find alittle back bend, very gracious,
and then you're going to rollall the way to your back feet.
(28:01):
Flat Time to observe.
Does one side feel bigger,heavier, more energetic, or do
you feel balance?
(28:21):
All right, let's go back ontothe right side now.
So let's set up like you didbefore, with your knees pointed
toward the front of the mat butyour feet back.
So your knees are still bent at90 degrees.
(28:43):
There is not much of an angleat your hips.
Right arm is reaching out infront of your head, is
completely supported by theblanket.
Bring your left hand to yourright hand again and once again,
eyes follow the thumb as youreach this left arm up.
(29:05):
You feel this beautifulrotation in your spine.
Let the left arm open as far asyou want.
Your hip will slide back.
So your left hip is sort ofreaching for the floor behind
right Now.
Let your arm be soft and try tobring your left hip over your
right hip.
Try to drive your left knee tothe front of your mat and, as a
(29:30):
consequence, you're going toroll back onto your right side
and your left arm will come up.
When you reach a critical mass,the left arm will come back
down and rest on your right hand.
Let's try it again.
Eyes follow thumb.
Reach that left arm as far,open as you would like.
Let your left hip slide back.
(29:50):
Your knees are not together,friends, not together.
And then, by driving your leftknee to the front of your mat,
your left hip begins to stackover your right hip.
You find that your spine isnaturally de-rotating and you
come back to the startingposition with your left hand on
your right hand.
(30:10):
Let's just do it twice moreOpen up Eyes follow thumb.
Left hip slide back.
Maybe your left arm reaches allthe way to the floor, or maybe
not.
Now drive your left knee to thefront of your mat.
Stack your left hip on yourright hip as you come back to
(30:30):
your side.
Left hand rest and right handLast time.
We're going to open up Eyes.
Follow the thumb Open all theway up.
Bring your knees now to pointto the right again.
So you're going to pike at yourhips, your left arm reaching
(30:54):
out to the left, your chest wideopen to the sky For a supine
twist.
Now I had you take the bolsterfor this practice, because I was
thinking that many of you mightneed to have the bolster
between your lower leg, betweenthe right and the left lower leg
.
Adjust the position of yourhead, because it's probably not
(31:17):
ideal for where you've just beenworking, and as you breathe in
and out, just notice the upperspine, the upper back, the neck.
Just breathe in and out, noticethese places with objectivity.
You have no more compulsion totry to change these places now
(31:45):
than you would.
The wind in the trees.
One more breath, so you'regoing to bring the soles of your
(32:16):
feet flat to your mat, roll allthe way to your back and if you
did have that bolster and youwant to use it on the second
side, just kind of kick it overto the left.
As always, you got to pull yourpants up right, and then you're
going to bump your hips over tothe right, roll on to your left
(32:37):
side in the interest of time.
Unfortunately, we have anabbreviated practice today.
Reach your left arm out infront of you and then keep your
knees bent at 90 degrees butslide the knees to point toward
the front of your mat, so yourhead is toward the back of your
mat, your knees to the front ofyour mat, your feet behind you.
(32:58):
Right hand rest in left hand.
Eyes, follow them completely.
As the arm reaches up, facefollows that hand, this time
open as far as you want.
Maybe your arm and shoulder reston the floor, or maybe not.
Certainly, your right hip hasslid back, almost like it too
wants to touch the floor andwe're not going to reach up with
(33:22):
the arm.
We're going to keep the armvery passive as you drive your
knee over right knee, over yourleft knee, drive your right hip
over your left hip and allow thespine to de-rotate itself until
your right hand is restingagain in your left hand, your
(33:44):
left cheek resting on theblanket Eyes follow thumb,
rotate open, let the hip moveright.
It is a global turning of thehead.
Then drive your right knee overyour left knee, your right hip
over your left hip and allowyourself to be untwisted until
(34:05):
your right hand rests in yourleft hand.
Eyes follow, thumb opening upany amount.
You know what.
Some people can get thatshoulder to the floor, many
cannot.
But if your right hip issliding back, I think it'll be a
lot more comfortable for youregardless.
Drive your right knee over yourleft knee, your right hip over
your left hip, allow yourself tobe de-rotated back onto your
(34:29):
side.
Let's do two more, just on yourown, with your breath.
I find that an exhale for thatend range, that deepest twist,
seems to be most hospitable.
And then inhaling back out ofthe twist seems to feel most
supported.
Exhaling to open, inhaling toclose.
(34:57):
This last time you'll openGreat, and then keep your right
arm shoulder on or very near thefloor at this point.
Draw your knees up towards yourchest.
Take that bolster between thetwo lower legs if you'd like.
(35:19):
You don't have to, but it mighthelp you get that right
shoulder to fully rest.
I have a feeling that your headis not quite in the right
position, so just kind of shiftthat around and make sure you're
happy with it so that you canbreathe your spine, just breathe
your spine.
So this practice is aboutcultivating not just stretching,
(35:53):
not flexibility in stiff areas,but instead about cultivating
variability, curiosity.
Two more breaths in your twist.
(36:21):
Now, if you do have the bolsterbetween the lower legs, you can
just use your feet to kind ofbring it under your thighs as
you roll to your back, bring itunder those thighs as you roll
(36:44):
to your back, and then you justsend your two legs out long over
that bolster.
Of course.
Correct your pants.
Let your arms rest by your sidesand very gently turn your head
side to side, noticing how fardown the spine do you feel this
(37:05):
rotation?
And if you're someone who feelsa little bit confused by cues
like that, you're looking forsomething a little more concrete
.
Maybe it'll feel like morecompressed on one side, a pull
squeeze.
How far down do you feel thetwist as you turn your head side
(37:31):
to side?
And from where do you feel thereturn to center?
Is it right in the neck or doesit start lower, maybe behind
the heart?
What about the side bend?
(37:51):
From where do you feel the sidebend, return to neutral when
you're coming from the side backto the middle and how far down
does the side bend occur as youturn?
Certainly it's not the sameeach time.
(38:17):
Next time your face is in thecenter, just notice quietly the
right and the left.
Maybe they feel balanced thesame, maybe they feel different,
as always.
(38:41):
Thank you so much for sharingyour practice with me today.
Welcome to the Yin Yoga Podcast.
I'm your host, mandy Ryle.
Today's episode is a podpractice where I will be
teaching you a modifiedFeldenkrais method lesson.
This is a lesson that I usequite a bit with clients and it
(00:22):
also happens to be one of mypersonal favorites.
If you're someone who sometimessuffers from some stiffness or
even pain in the upper, back orneck area, this is a practice
that I really want for you totake note of, because what I
have seen in my clients is thata practice like this, of course
(00:45):
blended with other customizedpractices, can really really
help to improve your experienceof these tissues, not only to
find a really peaceful awareness, but also to improve your
movement.
So that's what we'll be talkingabout specifically in this
practice is adding morevariability to your movement and
(01:06):
making it more global.
So this is a really valuableepisode and I think it'll make a
big difference for you ifyou've got a little bit of
discomfort in this area.
As always, thank you so so muchfor being a listener to the Yin
Yoga podcast.
If you haven't already, pleasejust take a second before the
(01:27):
episode starts to hit subscribeand, if it is available in your
podcast app, definitely opt-infor alerts so you never mess a
future episode In this practice.
You will definitely need ablanket for your head.
That's gonna be reallyimportant and also I think I'd
(01:49):
like for you to have a bolster,or even just a pillow, for the
single Yin pose in the wholepractice which you'll take at
the very end.
(02:10):
If you receive value from theYin Yoga podcast, I humbly ask
you to consider becoming apatron.
Patrons support the greatpractices and education on the
podcast and also get access tothe entire video practice
library.
In my online community, theShift School, my practice
library contains a huge varietyof movement, mindfulness,
(02:33):
strength and even meditationpractices.
The library is searchable forpain care practice resources to
address the most commonmusculoskeletal pain issues,
including back pain, neck andshoulder pain and hip pain.
The Yin teachers out there willlove a newly added feature the
experiential anatomy practicesection, where you get to dive
(02:56):
into learning anatomy throughyour very own body and breath.
This is all at your fingertipsfor a $15 donation each month.
You can cancel your patronageat any time.
Become a patron today.
I'll leave a link in the shownotes for you to get started.
(03:19):
So let's get started.
I'm gonna have you roll ontoyour back with your head resting
on that blanket and have yourlegs either extended out long or
feet flat, whatever is morecomfortable for you.
Let your arms just come to aresting position.
(03:39):
For some people that's out tothe side, for some people that's
on you, maybe hands resting onyour belly.
Take a moment just to breathe,feel yourself breathing here on
your back and as you'rebreathing and you're becoming
(04:06):
more aware of your body, here inthis moment, in this space, in
this position, you might noticealready that there is some
discomfort, something that ifyou were not being objective,
you would say you don't like,something you wish wasn't there.
(04:30):
And I will ask you instead justto observe these things with
curiosity.
Let's not call it good or bad,let's not spin up stories about
where it came from or what kindof problems it may cause for the
rest of the day.
(04:51):
Let's just observe it, which,by the way, is not easy.
It's a practice, and ever sogently, the next time you
(05:12):
breathe in, I'd like for you topress the back of your head into
the blanket.
You may feel your chest rise abit and then, on your exhale,
just relax Again.
I'll have you press the back ofyour head just gently into the
(05:32):
blanket and see if you can comeup with a comprehensive effort
the back of your neck, perhapsthe shoulders, and then release
on your exhale.
Okay, press into the back ofyour head, breathe in, make it
comprehensive, although youmight already find that one side
wants to work a little bitharder, that's normal, it's okay
(05:55):
and rest.
We're just going to do one more.
Try to make it comprehensive,right, left, up, down, all of it
.
Inhale, chest may rise,pressing the head, and then
relax.
I know that for many of you outthere with neck issues, that is
(06:16):
not the most comfortable thingto do, so well done.
Now I'd like for you to ever sogently, just turn your head
side to side.
Let's not push into anythingright now.
If you're familiar at all withmy approach, you know that I'm
not really into stretching,especially the neck.
(06:37):
I feel like these tissues arealready way too cranky for us to
go in with a big stretch.
So instead I'm just going tohave you find a nice soft,
peaceful turn side to side.
Now give you bonus points ifyou can find a way to use your
(06:58):
breath in a way that feelssupportive, and the reason
you're going to get bonus pointsfor that is because I'm not
going to tell you what to do.
I want you to experiment.
You may already be aware thatturning your head to one side is
(07:19):
easier, almost like your headis going downhill that way, and
turning to the other side it'salmost like uphill.
Why is it so much effort, whoknows?
Let's not spin up stories aboutit.
Okay, the next time your face isturned to the right, I'd have
(07:42):
you keep it there just for abreath or two and in your mind's
eye, create a fun image of yourcervical vertebra.
Those are the vertebra of yourneck, the neck bones turning,
twisting, and then, as you turnyour face back up to the center,
(08:03):
see if in your imagination youcan see them unrotate.
Let's turn back to the rightrotating, and you'll notice that
some vertebra turn a lot, right, even in your imagination.
In some turn a little.
That's okay.
They don't all go at the samerate, to the same degree.
(08:25):
That's the magic of your spine.
Turn your head to the centerand then once again to the right
, feel vertebra turning and ifyou feel any discomfort or
resistance there again, just becurious about it.
This time, when your face turnsback up, you're going to turn
(08:46):
back to the right, and I wantyou to notice also that it's not
a pure rotation of thesevertebra.
There's a little side bending,like your right ear is getting
closer to your right shoulder.
It's not a pure side bend,there's a twist.
This is normal.
Let your face rest, turn to theside and the side bend the
(09:11):
twist, take a breath and thenback.
You go to the middle.
Take a moment just to observethe right and the left side of
your neck Probably feelsdifferent.
Right, maybe one side feelsmore stirred up, maybe it feels
(09:34):
more sensitive, maybe what youfeel is more energy.
Now turn your face to the leftand back up to the center.
Turn your face to the left,nice and soft, no need to
(09:55):
stretch here and back to thecenter.
Now conjure that image in yourimagination of your vertebra
twisting, each in their ownunique and special way and
probably differently from theway they behaved when you turned
(10:16):
to the right.
Do a couple more and in yourimagination you could just
imagine some regular oldVertebra, if you know what those
look like, but I wouldn'trecommend it.
Instead, use your imagination.
Maybe you've got colors, maybesparkles, maybe your vertebra
(10:42):
are made of clouds.
Next time you turn your face tothe left.
Keep it, hold there, justnotice what, if any side bend is
here.
So it's not just rotating, it'salso your chin dropping, is it
(11:04):
not A combination of rotationand side bending?
Take a breath here and thencome back to the middle, notice,
(11:26):
notice left, and once againturn your face a little bit side
to side, just a little bit.
We're going to go right andleft.
Maybe in your imagination againyou can see those cloud
(11:47):
vertebra or those sparklevertebra rotating each in their
own way, side to side.
I wonder if you can notice thatthe rotation is not only in the
back of the neck.
Right.
You probably feel some rotationlower, maybe all the way down
(12:10):
to the place where your back istouching the floor, or maybe not
.
Maybe it's in that place whereyour upper back is sort of
becoming your neck, or your neckis becoming your upper back.
So see if you can identify howlow those vertebra, those cloud
(12:33):
or sparkle vertebra, twist.
And is it the same on the rightand the left?
What about the side bend?
How far down does the side bendoccur?
(13:08):
And the next time your face isback up in the middle, you're
going to stay.
Notice, not just the neck thistime, but the right and the left
side of the upper back.
Maybe there's more energy onone side.
Now I'll have you push downinto your feet so that you can
(13:34):
lift your hips, shift them tothe left and roll over onto your
right side and make yourblanket thick enough that your
head isn't kind of fallen offright, that you've got like your
head on the very same plane asthe rest of your spine, and make
(13:55):
sure that the blanket under youhas a lot of space
latitudinally, because your headis going to be rolling side to
side and I don't want you tofeel like you're going to fall
off.
Okay, now roll enough onto yourside that you can place your
left palm onto your right palmand then make your wrist and
(14:16):
your left hand so soft you mighteven curl up your left fingers
a little bit.
Leave your right hand softly inplace, but gently lift your
left hand away from your righthand.
And here's where you're goingto do something really important
.
You're going to tether the tipof your nose to your left thumb
(14:38):
and then let that left hand comeback down and see if your nose
will follow.
Now the left hand is going tocome up a little bit higher and
your nose will follow your eyesas well.
Keep your eyes open and thenyour left hand just settles into
your right hand.
Come up even higher.
Now I want you to notice thatat some point to come up higher,
you had to rotate your upperback, so it's not just the arm
(15:04):
lifting as you come up, yourface follows your thumb, which
means that you're rotating otherparts of your spine as well,
and it's almost like theshoulder sort of helps with
maybe the first six to 10 inches, and then the back, the spine
(15:27):
takes over.
I wonder if you can feel thatthe spine takes over and the
whole time the eyes are open andtrained on that left thumb.
Take your time, go nice and slow, and now that I've given you
all of these instructions, Iwant to let you know that you
can't do this wrong.
(15:48):
Take your time the next timeyour left hand is on your right
hand, rest, and then let'scommit to softness.
Commit to softness and committo variation.
So rather than thinking, oh, Ihave to do this right, am I
doing it right?
Thinking I have to do it thesame exact way every time, to do
(16:10):
it right, I want you to thinkabout can I do it a little bit
differently each time, like,maybe the sequence of rotation
for my vertebra is altered eachtime.
Maybe I'm going to use my hipto slide back rather than just
making it a function of my spine.
(16:31):
Perhaps, as my hand lifts, I'lleven let my left knee lift and
hip left hip slide back.
Okay, good, next time that lefthand is resting, I'm gonna have
you keep it there and I'm gonnaadd on.
So your knees are gonna bestill bent at the joint, so that
(16:56):
you have a 90 degree anglebetween your shin and your thigh
.
The only difference is you'regonna reduce the angle at your
hip by sliding your feet back.
So your left feet, your feet,are gonna slide back.
What would be to the left, Isuppose.
So your knees are now pointedtoward the front of your mat and
, instead of being bent at yourhips, you're mostly straight,
(17:19):
although most of us will have alittle bit of a pike in our hips
.
Okay, so your body is in kindof a straight line, except that
your knees are bent and yourfeet are maybe even off of the
mat behind it, so that you'vegot a little kickstand.
Now let's do this again.
So it's the same exact thing,the thought that eyes, the nose
(17:39):
follow the left hand as it comesup the left hip.
This time is gonna have toslide back right, and then
you'll be glad that your rightfoot is on the floor, otherwise
you would just tip right over.
Yeah, now rest as soon as theleft hand touches down onto the
right.
Rest and then do it again.
Commit to softness andvariation.
(18:02):
And when we bring the knees topoint to the back or the front
of the mat, I should say what weend up with are conditions that
require a bit more rotation inthese areas where we tend to get
a little tight, where we havesoreness or pain or trouble.
(18:30):
Good, next time, that left handis up toward the sky you're
looking at it with your eyes.
You're just gonna hold, andthen I'm gonna have you look
with your eyes behind your leftshoulder, turn your chin behind
your left shoulder and reachyour left hand to the right,
like it's thinking about comingback down, but your face is
(18:51):
looking back, so it can't.
And then you can do theopposite.
Your left hand is going toreach back, your face is gonna
turn to the right, so the armand the face are moving in
opposite directions.
Now bring your left hand to theright and your face to the left
.
Notice that your left hipprobably wants to go with your
(19:14):
face.
So as your left arm reachesback up and then comes back,
your face turns right.
Let your hip close toward thefloor in front of you so your
hip and your face move togetherand your left arm and left
shoulder are moving inopposition.
(19:34):
Let's do this a few more times.
Face looks away, left armreaches back, hip forward, face
and hip move back, arm moveforward.
Let's just right and left right, not up and down.
Left arm reach back, face andhip turn to the right.
(19:56):
Left arm reach to the right.
Hip and face go left one more.
One more notice there's alittle bit of a back bend.
Is that arm reaches back thistime?
Let it reach its fullexpression.
And then left arm to the right,face, hip to the left.
(20:19):
Notice your spine almost wantsto round, especially the upper
back.
Let it.
And then last time, left armmove back, face and hip move
right.
Find that back bend like youjust want to arch and stretch
out a little bit and then keepyour arm reaching back and turn
(20:41):
to your back, bringing your twofeet flat.
Let your arms just rest, feetflat or legs long, and take a
moment to observe the right andthe left, right and left neck,
right and left spine, so youmight notice that you feel a
little bit different on theright and the left.
Maybe one side feels bigger,maybe it feels higher or maybe
(21:09):
both sides feel even heavy orfloating.
Now let's do the second side.
So you're going to push downinto your feet, lift your hips,
shift them to the right and thenroll over onto your left side.
(21:31):
Your left arm is going to bereaching out in front of you.
Your knees are going to bestacked and pointed also to the
left.
Your blanket will be thickenough to support your head and
make sure there's space toeither side of your head for
when you roll.
And now take this soft righthand and rest it into the palm
(21:52):
of the left hand.
Your eyes are wide open, you'restaring at your right thumb.
So as your right thumb, as yourright hand lifts away from the
left hand, your eyes, your face,your collarbone follow the hand
and then bring the right handback down, rest it.
Let's do it again, so thatright hand rises up, eyes follow
(22:18):
and then it comes back downSoft, rest with your right hand
on your left hand.
Commit to a soft elbow, a softshoulder.
Eyes follow, thumb, come upmaybe a little bit more each
time, that wrist, that elbow,that hand, the fingers
(22:39):
themselves soft.
Take a full and complete rest.
Each time your right hand landsin your left hand, eyes follow,
and you may be noticing at acertain point that it's less
about the shoulder and moreabout your spine.
And if it's about your spine,as your arm reaches up more and
(23:01):
more, your right hip is probablytilting back, your right knee
is probably drawing away fromyour left knee.
That doesn't happen becauseyou're manipulating the leg, but
because the hip, the knee arerelaxed and they're just going
with the spine, the pelvis, theneck, everything together.
(23:28):
What we notice a lot in peoplewho have a musculoskeletal pain
issue is that their movementstend to become very rigid.
So, while normal human movementis extremely variable, when
we've had a pain issue for awhile, it starts to get stuck,
(23:50):
like there's really only one wayto do it.
And when that happens, oftenwhat we're finding is that the
movement has become extremelyisolated, ironically to the
place where the pain seems to bethe greatest.
And so this kind of movementhelps you teach your nervous
system to move globally.
(24:11):
Okay, the next time your righthand rests in your left hand,
just stay.
Rest for a moment and thenyou're going to keep your feet
together, keep your kneestogether, keep your knees bent
at exactly this angle, but slideyour knees so that they're
(24:34):
pointed toward the front of yourmat, so your head is on the
back of your mat, your kneespoint to the front of your mat,
your feet are on the floorslightly behind the long edge of
your mat, so your waist isstraight, your hips are straight
, no longer flexed, althoughperhaps slightly piked, and
(24:54):
we're going to do the same exactthing.
So the eyes follow the thumb.
Right arm rise as far asvertical let's not go much
higher than vertical and thenthe right hand come back down
resting in the left hand.
Let's do that a few more times.
You might notice now thatthere's a little bit more
(25:16):
rotation required in your spine,especially in this thoracic
area where we can get so tight,and the effort of turning your
head has now become a full bodyeffort, no longer isolated but
global, recruiting all of thesystems of the body.
(25:44):
All right, next time your rightarm is vertical, you're going
to keep it.
Keep those eyes on the handjust for a brief moment more.
Your right knee may have evenlifted away from the left knee,
your hip kind of tilted back.
Now try this turn your facemore to the right and reach your
(26:06):
right hand to the left.
So we're going opposite withthe face and the hand, and then
reach your right arm back up andthen back to the right, turn
your face to the left, let yourhip and your face go together to
the left Right arm, reach leftface, hip, turn right.
(26:27):
Probably that right knee iskind of moving around right and
then you're going to open yourright arm up, reaching to the
right, turn your face and yourhip to the left.
Remember, you can't really dothis wrong.
So if there's another strategythat you're finding interesting
or effective, I 100% support youin your autonomy for exploring
(26:55):
that.
But if you're looking forsomething maybe a little more
harmonious, I would recommendthat the hip and the face go
together and the arm moveopposite.
Now, next time that right armreaches to the right face and
hip to the left, find a littleback, bend, arching your spine,
maybe sliding your head back alittle bit on your blanket, and
(27:18):
then when your right hand movesleft, your face and your hip
move to the right.
Let your right hand reach evenmore to the left, like you kind
of want to round your upper back, okay.
So right arm reach to the right, hip and face go to the left.
Find a little back bend, maybesliding the head back, and then
(27:41):
right arm reach, left hip, facego right, maybe round your back
a little bit by reaching thatright hand a little further to
the left.
Last time we're opening.
So your right arm open, find alittle back bend, very gracious,
and then you're going to rollall the way to your back feet.
(28:01):
Flat Time to observe.
Does one side feel bigger,heavier, more energetic, or do
you feel balance?
(28:21):
All right, let's go back ontothe right side now.
So let's set up like you didbefore, with your knees pointed
toward the front of the mat butyour feet back.
So your knees are still bent at90 degrees.
(28:43):
There is not much of an angleat your hips.
Right arm is reaching out infront of your head, is
completely supported by theblanket.
Bring your left hand to yourright hand again and once again,
eyes follow the thumb as youreach this left arm up.
(29:05):
You feel this beautifulrotation in your spine.
Let the left arm open as far asyou want.
Your hip will slide back.
So your left hip is sort ofreaching for the floor behind
right Now.
Let your arm be soft and try tobring your left hip over your
right hip.
Try to drive your left knee tothe front of your mat and, as a
(29:30):
consequence, you're going toroll back onto your right side
and your left arm will come up.
When you reach a critical mass,the left arm will come back
down and rest on your right hand.
Let's try it again.
Eyes follow thumb.
Reach that left arm as far,open as you would like.
Let your left hip slide back.
(29:50):
Your knees are not together,friends, not together.
And then, by driving your leftknee to the front of your mat,
your left hip begins to stackover your right hip.
You find that your spine isnaturally de-rotating and you
come back to the startingposition with your left hand on
your right hand.
(30:10):
Let's just do it twice moreOpen up Eyes follow thumb.
Left hip slide back.
Maybe your left arm reaches allthe way to the floor, or maybe
not.
Now drive your left knee to thefront of your mat.
Stack your left hip on yourright hip as you come back to
(30:30):
your side.
Left hand rest and right handLast time.
We're going to open up Eyes.
Follow the thumb Open all theway up.
Bring your knees now to pointto the right again.
So you're going to pike at yourhips, your left arm reaching
(30:54):
out to the left, your chest wideopen to the sky For a supine
twist.
Now I had you take the bolsterfor this practice, because I was
thinking that many of you mightneed to have the bolster
between your lower leg, betweenthe right and the left lower leg
.
Adjust the position of yourhead, because it's probably not
(31:17):
ideal for where you've just beenworking, and as you breathe in
and out, just notice the upperspine, the upper back, the neck.
Just breathe in and out, noticethese places with objectivity.
You have no more compulsion totry to change these places now
(31:45):
than you would.
The wind in the trees.
One more breath, so you'regoing to bring the soles of your
(32:16):
feet flat to your mat, roll allthe way to your back and if you
did have that bolster and youwant to use it on the second
side, just kind of kick it overto the left.
As always, you got to pull yourpants up right, and then you're
going to bump your hips over tothe right, roll on to your left
(32:37):
side in the interest of time.
Unfortunately, we have anabbreviated practice today.
Reach your left arm out infront of you and then keep your
knees bent at 90 degrees butslide the knees to point toward
the front of your mat, so yourhead is toward the back of your
mat, your knees to the front ofyour mat, your feet behind you.
(32:58):
Right hand rest in left hand.
Eyes, follow them completely.
As the arm reaches up, facefollows that hand, this time
open as far as you want.
Maybe your arm and shoulder reston the floor, or maybe not.
Certainly, your right hip hasslid back, almost like it too
wants to touch the floor andwe're not going to reach up with
(33:22):
the arm.
We're going to keep the armvery passive as you drive your
knee over right knee, over yourleft knee, drive your right hip
over your left hip and allow thespine to de-rotate itself until
your right hand is restingagain in your left hand, your
(33:44):
left cheek resting on theblanket Eyes follow thumb,
rotate open, let the hip moveright.
It is a global turning of thehead.
Then drive your right knee overyour left knee, your right hip
over your left hip and allowyourself to be untwisted until
(34:05):
your right hand rests in yourleft hand.
Eyes follow, thumb opening upany amount.
You know what.
Some people can get thatshoulder to the floor, many
cannot.
But if your right hip issliding back, I think it'll be a
lot more comfortable for youregardless.
Drive your right knee over yourleft knee, your right hip over
your left hip, allow yourself tobe de-rotated back onto your
(34:29):
side.
Let's do two more, just on yourown, with your breath.
I find that an exhale for thatend range, that deepest twist,
seems to be most hospitable.
And then inhaling back out ofthe twist seems to feel most
supported.
Exhaling to open, inhaling toclose.
(34:57):
This last time you'll openGreat, and then keep your right
arm shoulder on or very near thefloor at this point.
Draw your knees up towards yourchest.
Take that bolster between thetwo lower legs if you'd like.
(35:19):
You don't have to, but it mighthelp you get that right
shoulder to fully rest.
I have a feeling that your headis not quite in the right
position, so just kind of shiftthat around and make sure you're
happy with it so that you canbreathe your spine, just breathe
your spine.
So this practice is aboutcultivating not just stretching,
(35:53):
not flexibility in stiff areas,but instead about cultivating
variability, curiosity.
Two more breaths in your twist.
(36:21):
Now, if you do have the bolsterbetween the lower legs, you can
just use your feet to kind ofbring it under your thighs as
you roll to your back, bring itunder those thighs as you roll
(36:44):
to your back, and then you justsend your two legs out long over
that bolster.
Of course.
Correct your pants.
Let your arms rest by your sidesand very gently turn your head
side to side, noticing how fardown the spine do you feel this
(37:05):
rotation?
And if you're someone who feelsa little bit confused by cues
like that, you're looking forsomething a little more concrete
.
Maybe it'll feel like morecompressed on one side, a pull
squeeze.
How far down do you feel thetwist as you turn your head side
(37:31):
to side?
And from where do you feel thereturn to center?
Is it right in the neck or doesit start lower, maybe behind
the heart?
What about the side bend?
(37:51):
From where do you feel the sidebend, return to neutral when
you're coming from the side backto the middle and how far down
does the side bend occur as youturn?
Certainly it's not the sameeach time.
(38:17):
Next time your face is in thecenter, just notice quietly the
right and the left.
Maybe they feel balanced thesame, maybe they feel different,
as always.
(38:41):
Thank you so much for sharingyour practice with me today.
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