September 13, 2023 • 61 mins
Though the front of the neck and throat are only a very small part of the physical body, they have an oversized role in self hood. This practice is amazing for my listeners with neck pain, but especially valuable for those of us who hold stress in the throat area.
In this gentle practice you will cultivate a benevolent awareness for the front of the neck and throat. My goal is to provide a profound sense of safety for any and all movements of the neck and expressions that come from the throat. You will also find that this class is incredibly soothing. Every time I teach it live, students fall asleep! So I can guarantee that the movements and breathing practices have a powerful effect on your parasympathetic nervous system.
If you have been looking for yoga for neck pain, be sure to save this practice!
Learn how to Create Yin Sequencing Poetry
Click the link for a recorded masterclass webinar to introduce you to my sequencing model. This is the model that I use to sequence my classes and that I teach to my Yin Teacher Trainees. https://yoga.mandyryle.com/creating-yin-sequencing-poetry/
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Free Resources:
Master the Yin Yoga Pose Repertoire: 7 Day Email Course
Introduction to Pain Care Yoga
Practice Gallery Workbook - 6 go to sequences with pictorial instructions
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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 I'm offering you a podpractice which is focused on a
pretty small area of thephysical body but a pretty big
area for selfhood, that's thefront of the neck and the throat
(00:23):
.
When I created this practice,it was because I myself was
having some throat pain.
I noticed that I am somebodywho really likes to put all of
my tension and angst right in mythroat, and so I was really
hoping to cultivate a sense ofawareness and certainly a
(00:47):
feeling of safety in this area.
But as I presented it to thegroup who I'm teaching in the
recording of this podcast, Ireally had in mind more
individuals who are sufferingwith some chronic neck pain,
especially if your pain is kindof in the sides of your neck,
although anybody who has somekind of neck stuff, I think,
(01:07):
would benefit from this sort ofgentle awareness that we're
cultivating here.
For your practice you don'treally need much.
You need a blanket and a coupleof blocks if you tend to feel a
little tighter in your innerthigh region.
I recently had the opportunityto do a masterclass webinar all
about Yin sequencing, and it wasso much fun because I got to
(01:32):
connect with so many of youlisteners to the Yin Yoga
Podcast.
It was a live event, so I gotto hear all of the cool
questions that people have aboutsequencing.
But if you weren't able to makeit live, no worries.
I made a recording which Iwould be very happy to share
with you.
I think that you would reallyget so much, not only from the
(01:58):
information that I shared aboutmy sequencing model, but really
also from hearing about theother pain points that other Yin
Yoga teachers are experiencingwith regard to sequencing.
If you would like access tothat recording, all you have to
do is click the link in the shownotes.
Thank you so much for being alistener to the Yin Yoga Podcast
(02:20):
.
I really hope that you enjoythis practice.
So you're gonna need for yourblanket to be at the back of
your mat.
Your head's gonna rest on thatfor most of your practice.
Your block, or blocks, can gobeside your mat mid mat, your
(02:46):
bolster, way out of the way.
We won't use that till the veryend, until we get to Shavasana,
so maybe that's closer up tothe front so it's not
interfering with you, and whenyou're ready, your head is gonna
rest on that blanket.
Your head's gonna rest on thatblanket at the back of your mat
and you'll either have your feetflat or your legs long, I don't
(03:11):
care which feet flat or legslong, and your arms are in a
position where they feel likethey're off.
Yeah, so that could be out tothe sides, it could be on, you
could be in your pockets, and asyou initially begin to become
(03:37):
aware of your breath, it may benecessary to change it a little
just so that your awareness canhang on to it.
And I'd like for you to noticeespecially the front of your
(04:04):
neck.
Notice the front of your neckas you're breathing in and out,
and if you feel compelled toalter the breath or manipulate
it somehow so that you can getsome other kind of perspective
(04:26):
on the front of your neck, thengo ahead.
It's your choice, and so wewill be working with this very
isolated area in your practice.
From your collar bones up toyour jaw bone, that mandible
(04:56):
bone, and from your ear lobesdown to the place where your
shoulder becomes your neck.
We're gonna be working in thisvery small region of the body
today, and so notice that ifthere's any movement here at all
(05:19):
as you're breathing in and out,in this region that we've
defined, there's any movement.
Likewise, notice if there areany sensations already present
(05:47):
here in the front of the neck.
Maybe there is a feeling ofease and peace, your throat and
your collar bones or maybe it'snot quite easeful, maybe there's
(06:13):
some tightness, even somediscomfort.
It's possible that anysensation present, maybe only on
one side, and today we're nothere to change that, we're here
(06:34):
to observe, befriend.
So if your legs are long, let'sbring the feet flat and step
(06:55):
your feet out as wide as yourmat.
And really, simply, as youbegin here, I'm just gonna have
you gently draw your chin downtowards your collar bones and
(07:16):
then do the opposite gently rollon the back of your head until
your chin is lifting away fromyour collar bones and you find a
little arch in your neck.
And then you'll draw your chindown and you'll find a little
roundness, a little flexion inyour neck.
(07:36):
And we're gonna go really slowhere.
So I'm gonna have you continuefor about a minute and I want
you to think about this pace.
No more than five repetitionsin 60 seconds, that's pretty
darn slow, no more than five.
(07:56):
And as you continue, please doallow the rest of your spine to
participate.
So you're using the muscles ofthe neck, the upper back, to
move the neck, but the rest ofthe spine isn't just standing
(08:18):
its ground, it's very muchparticipating, interested in
what's happening at the top ofthe spine.
Okay, and then imagine that theback of your head is resting on
(08:39):
the face of a clock.
When you rock to 12, you are on, your chin is lifting, so the
12 is at the top, and when yourchin comes down, you're pressing
the back of your head gently,gently, into the six.
Okay, so one more to 12, that'sthe chin up.
(09:05):
One more to six, that's gonnabe the chin down, and then one
more time come back up to the 12.
Just so gentle, and just hold,just hold here, with no effort,
just let the head rest in thisposition with the chin lifted.
So if the 12 is at the top,then the three must be to the
(09:30):
right on the clock.
I'd like you to go from the 12to the one, so you're gonna tilt
just a little bit, rolling theback of the head to the one, and
then the two and then the three, so your chin is sort of tucked
even as you are tilting yourhead, and then you're gonna come
back to the center.
So the part of your head whichis resting on the clock is
(09:53):
resting where the hands emergefrom the center of the clock,
and then come back up to the 12and then go from one to two to
three and come back to thecenter.
I'm gonna add on here bring yourfingertips to your collar bones
(10:17):
, fingertips to collar bones,and for me, I have long enough
arms that my elbows can rest onthe floor even when my
fingertips are on my collarbones.
Some of you are not blessedwith ridiculously long arms,
sorry, so you may need to crossyour hands.
So your opposite fingertips areon the opposite collar bone and
(10:37):
that way your arms can justsort of stay on your chest, okay
.
So you pick what's gonna workbest for you and as you come up
to the 12, maybe thosefingertips can just kind of hold
lightly the collar bones, justso you can see what happens.
And then, as you rock your headfrom 12 to 1 to 2 to 3, the
(11:00):
right fingertips are where thethe really interesting stuff is
happening, I think, and thenyou'll come back to the center
on the back of your head.
We'll press right there wherethis, the hands emerge.
So let's do four more now withthe right fingertips, just
observing what happens at thelevel of the collar bone.
(11:22):
You don't need to make anythinghappen.
Your job is just to observe,befriend.
Okay, one more.
(11:45):
And this time when you are overto that three.
So your chin is sort of tuckedand tilted at the same time.
You're just going to stay Withyour right hand.
You're going to take, bring theelbow out so that you can just
(12:07):
lay the palm of your right handon your left temple.
Make sure that your left elbowcan rest on something.
So is it going to rest on thefloor or is it going to rest on
a block and that hand isn'tgoing to push?
No, no, it's not going to push,it's just going to rest there.
Your left fingertips are onyour left side, collar bone Okay
(12:31):
, and then your knees windshieldwiper to the right, windshield
wiper to the right, and if youbump into anything, you know,
move it out of the way.
Let's keep those feet nice andwide on the mat.
As you know, I'm a, I'm astickler for that.
Nice and wide.
And come back to the center.
Let's keep the forehead tiltedover to the right, the hand just
(12:55):
gently resting on the temple,and back over to the right with
the legs, okay.
So use that whole warmth ofyour palm, let it just rest on
the forehead and the fingerskind of come around to the side
of your head and you want tojust feel a warm support, no
pressing.
(13:15):
And back, and you might notice,as your knees tilt over and your
hip is tilted with the knees,that there's a little downward
pull on the left collar bone.
Do you notice that A littledownward pull?
Totally passive?
Okay, totally passive.
But then from there you mightfeel a little extra stretch on
(13:42):
the right side of your neck,this collar bone.
Yes, knees up and then kneesover.
Yeah, do like the three more,and I would like to just make
(14:10):
this note right now.
So we're all on the same page.
We are not stretching the frontof the neck today, okay.
That is not the reason that youare here.
That is not my intent.
You may feel some gentlestretching as we pull these
tissues into some light traction, but that is not my intent.
Okay, so the next time yourknees are over to the right,
(14:33):
you're going to keep your kneesthere, okay, and then you'll
release your arms out to thesides and you'll just hold with
just that very light traction onthe left side of the neck.
(14:53):
So when I talk to people abouttheir neck pain which I do a lot
one of the areas that reallyreally gives people trouble is
this side of the neck area andyou can kind of feel it here
Right and maybe it is a littlesensitive for you.
(15:16):
So while pain is not containedin a tissue, pain doesn't belong
to a tissue, pain is amanifestation of self.
But the muscle which issensitive is the
(15:41):
sternocleidomastoid.
It's actually very powerfulmuscle for something so small.
Starts the back of the ear,that bony, that knob at the back
of your ear.
It's your mastoid and it comesdown into two heads.
We call them one to thecollarbone joins, inserts on the
(16:04):
collarbone.
The other comes immediately andinserts on your sternum, that's
the center bone of your chest.
Okay, so now we're working withthe clivicular head of
sternocleidomastoid.
Use your breath just gently toexplore this area under tension.
(16:25):
This will be our final breathand then the knees return to the
(16:59):
center, hips face, yeah, andyou'll take a moment to compare
the left and the right side ofthe front of your neck.
If you need a break from yourfeet being flat, take a break by
(17:20):
sending your legs out long orhugging the man or letting the
knees fall together.
Just take a break.
Okay, now we'll have the feetwide again Standing, and we'll
(17:44):
bring the fingertips to thecollarbones.
Remember, I want for your armsto be relaxed with your fingers
on your collarbones.
Okay, yeah, and then just reallygently at first, just move
between the six and the 12.
So that's up and down on theclock.
We got a little tuck, littletuck and drawing the chin up.
(18:06):
So a little extension of theneck and also gentle flexion of
the neck.
Let the rest of the spineparticipate, encourage the rest
(18:31):
of the spine to participate.
It's possible that your spinesort of automatically responds.
So when you're in thatextension, your chin is lifted,
you automatically kind of wantto let the low back engage a
little too.
You want to arch it and it'spossible that you sort of feel
(18:55):
like you want to tuck your taila little when your chin comes
down.
It's also possible that that isnot happening.
Notice any movement of thecollarbones.
(19:16):
Okay, next time you are on the12, we're going to move to the
left, to the nine.
So you're going to do 11, 10and nine.
So when you're on the nine.
It's sort of like your chin istucked and also tilted.
Okay, come back to the middle,the place from which the hands
(19:39):
emerge, and up to 12.
So slow, take your time.
We go 11, 10, nine Back to thecenter.
So the right fingertips are notthere to do anything, but if
you're curious, you could justgently press into the right
(20:03):
collarbone and see what happens.
So it's not to create a deeperstretch, it's just to observe.
It's because you're curious,let's do two more.
And the next time you are overthere to the nine.
(20:38):
So your chin is sort of tucked,definitely tilted, tilted.
You stay.
This time we take the left handon to the side of your head, to
the right side of your head.
Use as much of that warm palmon the side of your head to
(21:01):
provide gentle weight Don't pushso it's on your forehead
providing a gentle weight on theright side of your head.
On the right side of your head,your right fingertips are on
your right collarbone, the feetare standing wide on your mat
(21:21):
and you windshield wiper yourknees to the left.
You windshield wiper your kneesto the left and you'll feel the
hip tilt with the knees right.
So we're just providing agentle pull down on the
collarbone, come back to themiddle.
Okay, just a mild distraction.
Again, it's not for stretching.
(21:43):
Think of it as just inhalingand exhaling into the right side
of your neck.
Okay, windshield wiper and backup.
(22:09):
We always in Yin think aboutmuscles stretching, which is a
pretty limited view of whatmuscles do.
But we could even limit thatmore by not acknowledging the
various ways that we can pull amuscle into traction.
We can create mechanicaltension, not just via a
(22:35):
lengthwise stretch, but also bya torsion, a twisting, which is
what you're doing here.
Two more only.
Okay, next time, both knees areto the left, you'll leave them
(23:01):
there.
Maybe you'll use your hand tohelp you arrange your chin in a
way that you're really confident, comfortable and you have
something to explore before yourelease your arms out to the
sides.
Release your arms out to thesides, yes, okay, now use your
(23:25):
breath.
Use your breath to explore theright side of your neck.
(23:45):
So the sternocleidomastoid areusually not super involved in
breathing, but they can be veryuseful in a pinch.
Mostly when we see thesternocleidomastoid being used
(24:07):
for the active breathing, it'swhen we're breathing very high
into the chest, when we'refeeling anxious or scared, right
, the sternocleidomastoid canactually help you to lift the
ribs to draw air into the lungs,which is probably one reason
(24:33):
why anxious people almost alwayshave neck pain, because
sternocleidomastoid are notexactly the right guy for the
job of breathing day in and dayout.
But they will do the jobvaliantly if we ask them to.
Okay, let's take one morebreath here.
(25:43):
Windshield wipers and theneverything returns to the middle
.
Everything returns to themiddle and you'll take a break.
However, you feel like youcould take a break most
(26:03):
productively for a short timenotice.
The two sides of your neck Nowthe feet are flat again.
(26:30):
The feet are flat again.
They don't have to be wide,unless that's just more
comfortable for you and you'regoing to take your two hands and
you're going to place them onthe top of your head.
I would prefer that your righthand is under your left hand,
(26:55):
your elbows point up to theceiling and then your fingers
are just going to come down tothe back of your head a little
bit, so that your elbows arepointed straight up to the sky.
So your palms are on the top ofyour head and your fingers are
on the back of your head.
Your elbows are pointed upbecause your arms are just
(27:16):
slightly squeezed in.
Guys, use your hands to gentlylift the weight of the head away
from the blanket and then keeppulling your elbows forward,
(27:37):
like you could roll up onevertebra at a time, and it's
sort of like the cranial clockthat you were working with has
gotten really big, because nowthe six is at your middle back.
And then use your hands tosupport your head as you
articulate your vertebra, one ata time, back down and rest your
(27:58):
head on the blanket.
Ok, so, lifting up one vertebraat a time, your chin is
pressing down towards your chest, but not with a great deal of
effort, and then your hands holdyour head as you come back down
.
This time try to engage themuscles of the neck a little bit
(28:24):
, so your arms are helping, butyou're going to feel a nice
firmness in the neck and thenyou're going to feel that
firmness maintained as you loweryour head down.
But it also might feel a littlebit like a stretch.
Ok, hands do most of thelifting, but then the neck takes
(28:47):
over too, because, guess what?
It can help you to flex yourspine.
And then, oh, so slow, oh soslow, let's do one more, as slow
as you can, because I reallywant you to feel the muscles on
the front of your neck helping.
You'll.
(29:08):
Stay with your head up.
Your right hand remains on thetop of your head.
Your left hand, though, reachesfor your right knee, left hand,
right knee.
Draw your left hand, thoughreaches for your right knee,
left hand, right knee.
Draw your left knee, right knee, towards your right elbow.
(29:29):
Tuck your tail so your wholespine is flexed like you're a
snail.
So your left hand holding yourright knee, pulling your knee
towards your right elbow Neck,is engaged.
The whole spine is engaged.
One more breath.
Reach your right hand for yourright foot.
Lift that foot up and thenlower your head down.
(29:51):
Hold the foot for the halfhappy baby here.
So your right hand holds yourright foot.
Your right hand holds yourright foot or your right ankle
or your pants.
Yeah, your right knee moves outwide.
Bring it out wide.
Yeah, yeah, good.
And then either, if this poseis already pretty challenging
(30:14):
for you, keep your left footflat on the floor with the knee
pointed up.
If you have a little more spacein this pose, wing your left
knee out, bringing your leftfoot more to the middle of your
mat.
Here's my favorite for this Leftleg, fully extended.
Use your right hand to gentlypull down on the foot or ankle
(30:36):
or your pants, and bring yourleft fingertips to the floor,
that's, and bring your leftfingertips to your right
collarbone.
It feels different.
Now, right, there's stuffengaging.
Use your fingers Just gentlytapping, tap the place where
your chest becomes yourcollarbone, where your
(30:59):
collarbone becomes your neck,out to your shoulder, and feel
the firmness, feel the strengthPulling down on that foot or
ankle, feel that engagement, andthen rest your left hand, just
briefly.
Draw your chin down, come tothe six and then go from six to
(31:26):
the left, seven, eight, nine,back to the middle.
Only two more Six, seven, eight, nine.
One more center Six, seven,eight, nine.
(31:50):
Rest, bring your feet flat,rest your arms, notice the
difference between the right andthe left side of your neck.
(32:16):
I want someone to tell me whoand when and how did we decide
that when something hurts, it'ssafe to stretch it but not to
engage it.
When did that happen?
Because it's not true, I mean,it's patently false and really
(32:37):
harmful, by the way, that forsome reason we think, oh no, I'm
engaging it, this feelsdangerous, as opposed to oh, I'm
stretching it.
This feels good and beneficial.
Okay, so you're going to takeyour hands back onto the top of
(33:00):
your head with your elbowspointed up.
Your fingers are going to comearound to the back of your head,
your palms stay on the top.
Left hand is under.
Left hand is under the firstcouple of times.
It's just like you're going tolift the weight of your head,
hold it, cradle it for just amoment and then use your elbows
(33:20):
pulling forward to draw yourchin down, rolling up to a six,
which is now at the middle back,and then the arms do all the
heavy lifting back down.
So we can do this without usingthe neck.
But guess what?
It is safe for you to feel yourneck working.
In fact, it's good for you.
(33:41):
Okay, chin tuck as you come upand then maybe feel your chin
stretch away just slightly asyou come back.
It's very, very slight, veryslight.
One of these times, as you rollup, I want you to let the
muscles help.
It feels like they're themuscles in the front of the neck
(34:02):
, the muscles that are actuallyhelping.
Well, it's sort ofstrenucleomastoid, but it's a
lot of the muscles which flexyour spine.
They're working on the vertebraof your spine.
Yes, let's do two more.
I know it's hard and if you'reone of those people that's like,
(34:25):
oh my gosh, I can feel my neck,I don't feel safe Maybe you
just lay and you just imaginethis, but I want to remind you
it is safe for you to use yourneck Last time coming up and
stay.
So the left hand remains, theright hand, grabs that left knee
and pulls it towards your leftelbow, and you use that hand to
(34:46):
help you tuck your tail.
All of the muscles of the spineare participating in this
flexion.
So, from the back of your skullto the tip of your tail, your
spine is committed to flexinghere the whole spine, not one
area more than another.
That chin is tucked, the elbowis pulling, okay, and then
(35:12):
you'll bring the shin tovertical.
You'll grab the foot or theankle with your left hand, lower
your head down for the halfhappy baby.
So your left hand holds yourleft foot or ankle or your pants
.
What are you gonna do with thatright leg?
(35:34):
Are you gonna keep your footflat?
Are you gonna extend your leg?
Are you gonna wing it?
Now pull down with your lefthand and use your right
fingertips, starting at yourcollar bone, but feel the
pectoral peck, major, as itbecomes the collar bone, and
then feel the neck as it engages.
It's working and it's safe.
(35:58):
It's safe for this muscle towork and engage.
That is its dharma Muscle doesone thing it contracts.
Everything else is something wedo to it, just tapping, tapping
(36:19):
.
Now, if you need a break, youcan take it, otherwise you'll
release that right hand, you'lldraw your chin down to the six
and this time we're moving tothe right, toward the three, so
(36:42):
we'll go five, four, three andcome back to the center.
You're gonna do that two moretimes only, and it's not about a
deeper stretch, it's just aboutexperiencing Four, three,
center.
We have one more Tucking downto six, rolling to the right.
(37:10):
Five, four, three, center.
Rest, feet flat or legs long,however you feel like you can
rest, arms rest.
Compare the two sides of yourneck.
Everybody always asks me canyou show me some good stretches
(37:55):
for my neck, because I have thisneck thing Nobody ever says.
Can you show me some goodexercises to really engage the
muscles of my neck, strengthenthe muscles of my neck?
Actually, that's not true.
I had somebody ask me to dothat last week, which was kind
(38:16):
of cool, but it wasn't becauseof neck pain.
So, okay, guys, you're gonnabring your two feet flat, if
they're not already.
(38:36):
You're gonna use your hands tohelp you push that blanket back
out from under your head, soit's no longer under your head,
but it's still very close athand, okay.
So your head is flat, your headis on the floor, yes, and then
you're gonna bring your feetreally close together and as
your knees open up wide, you'regonna let your spine kind of
(39:00):
shrink into that extension soyou'll feel your lumbar spine
arch and also the back of yourneck might arch, right, okay.
And then, as your knees comeback together, I'd like for you
to push a little with your feet,push them forward, but don't
let them move and feel yourwhole spine kind of flatten out
(39:21):
onto the mat, so your lumbarflatten, the back of your neck
flatten.
Your chin is gonna just lightlydraw down and then, as your
knees open into the butterfly,you're gonna feel your whole
spine kind of shrink into itsarches, into its natural arches,
and as your knees come backtogether, you're gonna push with
your feet and you're gonna feelyour whole spine lengthen and
(39:44):
flatten.
Okay, let's do a few more ofthese.
So both of these movements arean exaggerated way for your
spine to live in the world,right In the exaggerated arches,
and also in what we call anaxial extension.
When you flatten your wholespine out, this is an unnatural
place to be all the time.
(40:05):
That is a movement you can make, not something you should be in
all the time.
Okay, let's do three moreexplore the arches those
exaggerated arches but alsoexplore the axial extension.
That's lengthening the spineout, trying to flatten that.
Neither of those are positionsthat you should be in all the
(40:27):
time.
Okay, but they are positionsthat we should do sometimes.
Good, and let's see, the nexttime your knees are opened up
wide, you're in the arches.
You're just gonna stay.
(40:47):
Now, if you would like, you canbring your blocks under the
thighs in the half, in the fullbutterfly the spine butterfly
because you're gonna be therefor a little bit and I don't
want you to be superuncomfortable, because that's
not a practice about your hips,right?
Okay?
Use your breath to explore thetwo sides of the front of your
(41:11):
neck.
Let's take one more breath, useyour hands to help you draw
(42:58):
your knees back in and, as bestas you can, allow the spine to
resume a neutral position.
So it's not trying to flattenout, we're not attempting to
exaggerate the curves.
We've just found a perfectresting position for the spine.
(43:23):
Back of the neck, all the way toyour tailbone.
I'll have you draw two knees into your chest.
(43:46):
Use your hands to hold yourknees and your chest and, with
your grip pretty strong on thoselegs, tuck your chin and one
(44:08):
vertebra at a time.
Lift your head and even yourshoulders.
If you can use those arms, pullso the whole spine is flexed.
You're making a little snailshape.
And then here's where it getsreally interesting.
Use the strength of your spinalcolumn to lower down one
(44:30):
vertebra at a time.
Let your head rest, let yourfeet come back to the mat
Neutral curves.
Draw your knees in.
Hold tight, one vertebra at atime.
Use that strong neck of yoursto lift your head up, tuck it
(44:57):
toward your knees and then, asslowly as you can, the whole
spinal column so strong just tosupport the weight of your head
against gravity.
When your head is resting, yourfeet come back to the mat.
Draw your knees in.
(45:23):
This is the last one, onevertebra at a time.
You can do it.
That neck of yours is strongand it is safe to feel it
engaging.
It's necessary this time.
As you're tucked, either holdyour ankles with your hands or
the sides of your feet with yourhands.
Bring your shins to vertical orvertical-ish.
(45:45):
Slowly lower your head backdown to the floor.
Bring those knees out a littlewider for your happy baby.
Lift your chin so you come upto the 12.
And then let's go to the right.
(46:07):
Let's go one, two, three andthen we're gonna go back up to
two, one, twelve, eleven, ten,nine.
Clockwise ten, eleven, twelve.
(46:29):
One, two, three.
Counterclockwise two, one,twelve, eleven, ten, nine.
Just a couple more Really slowwith the breath.
(46:50):
Last one over to the.
We need to end on nine.
(47:12):
So last one is on nine.
Back up to 12.
Use your hands, just gentlypulling into those feet Strong
(47:42):
shoulders, clavicles anchoredand release the feet.
Take a moment to observe thefront of your neck, the sides of
(48:03):
your neck.
It's safe to feel thesesensations, safe to feel.
(48:36):
So if you have a bolster, I'dlike for you to use it for the
next pose.
You'll have your legs extendedout long, so with a bolster,
your thighs will be on it.
Yes, anybody want a bolsterthat doesn't have one.
(48:59):
Yes, it's going under yourthighs, yeah, so I want you to
be ultra comfortable.
Bring that blanket back underyour head.
If there's anything else youneed, you'll use that as well.
(49:23):
We're not taking shavasana yet,though.
Go ahead and bring those kneesup.
The heels are going to be aboutas wide as your mat.
Whether you have a bolster underyour thighs or not and your
arms just resting, I want to doa pranayama with you, so we'll
(49:53):
start out very, very simple.
When you breathe in, I'd likefor you to feel as if your ear
holes are narrowing.
Your ear holes are going to getcloser together as you breathe
in, and keep them close as youbreathe out, and continue like
(50:20):
that.
So, as you breathe in, your earholes get closer together, and
as you breathe out, they stayclose together, and maybe at
certain portions of the breathcycle, you feel like you're
better at this than others.
That's normal.
We're not all going to be greatat something weird like this,
especially when we just startout, so be patient with yourself
(50:43):
and don't force it.
It's so gentle.
90% of it is in yourimagination.
Now I'm going to add on thereis a softer part of the roof of
(51:22):
your mouth.
Right there's the hard part,the front, and then the soft
palate is behind.
In addition to, in addition toear holes narrowing, I'd like
for you to feel the back of thetop of the mouth, arch the soft
palate arch and lift and see ifyou can keep it lifted as you
(51:49):
breathe in and out.
Okay, yes, and you'll practiceit a few times.
It's weird, it's very weird.
It might feel like you are atthe beginning of a yawn when you
get it just right, and it'spossible that you'll just yawn
(52:13):
too.
Sometimes that happens.
I'm going to add one more thingIn addition to the soft palate
arching upward, the floor ofyour throat will drop and sink.
So the top of your mouth, thebottom of your throat are moving
apart as your ear holes move in, and this can be a lot.
(53:04):
So if you feel like you need abreak, you just need to take a
normal breath or two, take anormal breath and then come back
when you're ready.
(53:52):
We'll do one more round and atthe end of this last exhale,
just let the tissues resumetheir neutral shape, resume the
(54:21):
spontaneous tempo of breath, sono longer manipulating length.
One more time, notice the frontof your neck and the next thing
(55:06):
to do is shavasana.
So if there's any change inposition or prepping that you
need, now's the time.
Just let the body sink and, forthe ideal, deep Breath, just
(55:47):
let the movement of the bondssink through.
Now we'll decide on which dipit in.
(56:09):
It's time to deepen the breath,time to restore movement and,
(58:43):
when you're ready, find your wayonto the side of your choice.
So lend to your hands and riseto your seat, press your palms
(59:18):
together in front of your heart,bow your head and take in a
nice breath into the front ofyour neck and a soft but
comprehensive exhale from thefront of your neck.
Just one more like that.
(59:44):
Thank you so much, everyone,for practicing today.
Welcome to the Yin Yoga Podcast.
I'm your host, mandy Ryle.
Today I'm offering you a podpractice which is focused on a
pretty small area of thephysical body but a pretty big
area for selfhood, that's thefront of the neck and the throat
(00:23):
.
When I created this practice,it was because I myself was
having some throat pain.
I noticed that I am somebodywho really likes to put all of
my tension and angst right in mythroat, and so I was really
hoping to cultivate a sense ofawareness and certainly a
(00:47):
feeling of safety in this area.
But as I presented it to thegroup who I'm teaching in the
recording of this podcast, Ireally had in mind more
individuals who are sufferingwith some chronic neck pain,
especially if your pain is kindof in the sides of your neck,
although anybody who has somekind of neck stuff, I think,
(01:07):
would benefit from this sort ofgentle awareness that we're
cultivating here.
For your practice you don'treally need much.
You need a blanket and a coupleof blocks if you tend to feel a
little tighter in your innerthigh region.
I recently had the opportunityto do a masterclass webinar all
about Yin sequencing, and it wasso much fun because I got to
(01:32):
connect with so many of youlisteners to the Yin Yoga
Podcast.
It was a live event, so I gotto hear all of the cool
questions that people have aboutsequencing.
But if you weren't able to makeit live, no worries.
I made a recording which Iwould be very happy to share
with you.
I think that you would reallyget so much, not only from the
(01:58):
information that I shared aboutmy sequencing model, but really
also from hearing about theother pain points that other Yin
Yoga teachers are experiencingwith regard to sequencing.
If you would like access tothat recording, all you have to
do is click the link in the shownotes.
Thank you so much for being alistener to the Yin Yoga Podcast
(02:20):
.
I really hope that you enjoythis practice.
So you're gonna need for yourblanket to be at the back of
your mat.
Your head's gonna rest on thatfor most of your practice.
Your block, or blocks, can gobeside your mat mid mat, your
(02:46):
bolster, way out of the way.
We won't use that till the veryend, until we get to Shavasana,
so maybe that's closer up tothe front so it's not
interfering with you, and whenyou're ready, your head is gonna
rest on that blanket.
Your head's gonna rest on thatblanket at the back of your mat
and you'll either have your feetflat or your legs long, I don't
(03:11):
care which feet flat or legslong, and your arms are in a
position where they feel likethey're off.
Yeah, so that could be out tothe sides, it could be on, you
could be in your pockets, and asyou initially begin to become
(03:37):
aware of your breath, it may benecessary to change it a little
just so that your awareness canhang on to it.
And I'd like for you to noticeespecially the front of your
(04:04):
neck.
Notice the front of your neckas you're breathing in and out,
and if you feel compelled toalter the breath or manipulate
it somehow so that you can getsome other kind of perspective
(04:26):
on the front of your neck, thengo ahead.
It's your choice, and so wewill be working with this very
isolated area in your practice.
From your collar bones up toyour jaw bone, that mandible
(04:56):
bone, and from your ear lobesdown to the place where your
shoulder becomes your neck.
We're gonna be working in thisvery small region of the body
today, and so notice that ifthere's any movement here at all
(05:19):
as you're breathing in and out,in this region that we've
defined, there's any movement.
Likewise, notice if there areany sensations already present
(05:47):
here in the front of the neck.
Maybe there is a feeling ofease and peace, your throat and
your collar bones or maybe it'snot quite easeful, maybe there's
(06:13):
some tightness, even somediscomfort.
It's possible that anysensation present, maybe only on
one side, and today we're nothere to change that, we're here
(06:34):
to observe, befriend.
So if your legs are long, let'sbring the feet flat and step
(06:55):
your feet out as wide as yourmat.
And really, simply, as youbegin here, I'm just gonna have
you gently draw your chin downtowards your collar bones and
(07:16):
then do the opposite gently rollon the back of your head until
your chin is lifting away fromyour collar bones and you find a
little arch in your neck.
And then you'll draw your chindown and you'll find a little
roundness, a little flexion inyour neck.
(07:36):
And we're gonna go really slowhere.
So I'm gonna have you continuefor about a minute and I want
you to think about this pace.
No more than five repetitionsin 60 seconds, that's pretty
darn slow, no more than five.
(07:56):
And as you continue, please doallow the rest of your spine to
participate.
So you're using the muscles ofthe neck, the upper back, to
move the neck, but the rest ofthe spine isn't just standing
(08:18):
its ground, it's very muchparticipating, interested in
what's happening at the top ofthe spine.
Okay, and then imagine that theback of your head is resting on
(08:39):
the face of a clock.
When you rock to 12, you are on, your chin is lifting, so the
12 is at the top, and when yourchin comes down, you're pressing
the back of your head gently,gently, into the six.
Okay, so one more to 12, that'sthe chin up.
(09:05):
One more to six, that's gonnabe the chin down, and then one
more time come back up to the 12.
Just so gentle, and just hold,just hold here, with no effort,
just let the head rest in thisposition with the chin lifted.
So if the 12 is at the top,then the three must be to the
(09:30):
right on the clock.
I'd like you to go from the 12to the one, so you're gonna tilt
just a little bit, rolling theback of the head to the one, and
then the two and then the three, so your chin is sort of tucked
even as you are tilting yourhead, and then you're gonna come
back to the center.
So the part of your head whichis resting on the clock is
(09:53):
resting where the hands emergefrom the center of the clock,
and then come back up to the 12and then go from one to two to
three and come back to thecenter.
I'm gonna add on here bring yourfingertips to your collar bones
(10:17):
, fingertips to collar bones,and for me, I have long enough
arms that my elbows can rest onthe floor even when my
fingertips are on my collarbones.
Some of you are not blessedwith ridiculously long arms,
sorry, so you may need to crossyour hands.
So your opposite fingertips areon the opposite collar bone and
(10:37):
that way your arms can justsort of stay on your chest, okay
.
So you pick what's gonna workbest for you and as you come up
to the 12, maybe thosefingertips can just kind of hold
lightly the collar bones, justso you can see what happens.
And then, as you rock your headfrom 12 to 1 to 2 to 3, the
(11:00):
right fingertips are where thethe really interesting stuff is
happening, I think, and thenyou'll come back to the center
on the back of your head.
We'll press right there wherethis, the hands emerge.
So let's do four more now withthe right fingertips, just
observing what happens at thelevel of the collar bone.
(11:22):
You don't need to make anythinghappen.
Your job is just to observe,befriend.
Okay, one more.
(11:45):
And this time when you are overto that three.
So your chin is sort of tuckedand tilted at the same time.
You're just going to stay Withyour right hand.
You're going to take, bring theelbow out so that you can just
(12:07):
lay the palm of your right handon your left temple.
Make sure that your left elbowcan rest on something.
So is it going to rest on thefloor or is it going to rest on
a block and that hand isn'tgoing to push?
No, no, it's not going to push,it's just going to rest there.
Your left fingertips are onyour left side, collar bone Okay
(12:31):
, and then your knees windshieldwiper to the right, windshield
wiper to the right, and if youbump into anything, you know,
move it out of the way.
Let's keep those feet nice andwide on the mat.
As you know, I'm a, I'm astickler for that.
Nice and wide.
And come back to the center.
Let's keep the forehead tiltedover to the right, the hand just
(12:55):
gently resting on the temple,and back over to the right with
the legs, okay.
So use that whole warmth ofyour palm, let it just rest on
the forehead and the fingerskind of come around to the side
of your head and you want tojust feel a warm support, no
pressing.
(13:15):
And back, and you might notice,as your knees tilt over and your
hip is tilted with the knees,that there's a little downward
pull on the left collar bone.
Do you notice that A littledownward pull?
Totally passive?
Okay, totally passive.
But then from there you mightfeel a little extra stretch on
(13:42):
the right side of your neck,this collar bone.
Yes, knees up and then kneesover.
Yeah, do like the three more,and I would like to just make
(14:10):
this note right now.
So we're all on the same page.
We are not stretching the frontof the neck today, okay.
That is not the reason that youare here.
That is not my intent.
You may feel some gentlestretching as we pull these
tissues into some light traction, but that is not my intent.
Okay, so the next time yourknees are over to the right,
(14:33):
you're going to keep your kneesthere, okay, and then you'll
release your arms out to thesides and you'll just hold with
just that very light traction onthe left side of the neck.
(14:53):
So when I talk to people abouttheir neck pain which I do a lot
one of the areas that reallyreally gives people trouble is
this side of the neck area andyou can kind of feel it here
Right and maybe it is a littlesensitive for you.
(15:16):
So while pain is not containedin a tissue, pain doesn't belong
to a tissue, pain is amanifestation of self.
But the muscle which issensitive is the
(15:41):
sternocleidomastoid.
It's actually very powerfulmuscle for something so small.
Starts the back of the ear,that bony, that knob at the back
of your ear.
It's your mastoid and it comesdown into two heads.
We call them one to thecollarbone joins, inserts on the
(16:04):
collarbone.
The other comes immediately andinserts on your sternum, that's
the center bone of your chest.
Okay, so now we're working withthe clivicular head of
sternocleidomastoid.
Use your breath just gently toexplore this area under tension.
(16:25):
This will be our final breathand then the knees return to the
(16:59):
center, hips face, yeah, andyou'll take a moment to compare
the left and the right side ofthe front of your neck.
If you need a break from yourfeet being flat, take a break by
(17:20):
sending your legs out long orhugging the man or letting the
knees fall together.
Just take a break.
Okay, now we'll have the feetwide again Standing, and we'll
(17:44):
bring the fingertips to thecollarbones.
Remember, I want for your armsto be relaxed with your fingers
on your collarbones.
Okay, yeah, and then just reallygently at first, just move
between the six and the 12.
So that's up and down on theclock.
We got a little tuck, littletuck and drawing the chin up.
(18:06):
So a little extension of theneck and also gentle flexion of
the neck.
Let the rest of the spineparticipate, encourage the rest
(18:31):
of the spine to participate.
It's possible that your spinesort of automatically responds.
So when you're in thatextension, your chin is lifted,
you automatically kind of wantto let the low back engage a
little too.
You want to arch it and it'spossible that you sort of feel
(18:55):
like you want to tuck your taila little when your chin comes
down.
It's also possible that that isnot happening.
Notice any movement of thecollarbones.
(19:16):
Okay, next time you are on the12, we're going to move to the
left, to the nine.
So you're going to do 11, 10and nine.
So when you're on the nine.
It's sort of like your chin istucked and also tilted.
Okay, come back to the middle,the place from which the hands
(19:39):
emerge, and up to 12.
So slow, take your time.
We go 11, 10, nine Back to thecenter.
So the right fingertips are notthere to do anything, but if
you're curious, you could justgently press into the right
(20:03):
collarbone and see what happens.
So it's not to create a deeperstretch, it's just to observe.
It's because you're curious,let's do two more.
And the next time you are overthere to the nine.
(20:38):
So your chin is sort of tucked,definitely tilted, tilted.
You stay.
This time we take the left handon to the side of your head, to
the right side of your head.
Use as much of that warm palmon the side of your head to
(21:01):
provide gentle weight Don't pushso it's on your forehead
providing a gentle weight on theright side of your head.
On the right side of your head,your right fingertips are on
your right collarbone, the feetare standing wide on your mat
(21:21):
and you windshield wiper yourknees to the left.
You windshield wiper your kneesto the left and you'll feel the
hip tilt with the knees right.
So we're just providing agentle pull down on the
collarbone, come back to themiddle.
Okay, just a mild distraction.
Again, it's not for stretching.
(21:43):
Think of it as just inhalingand exhaling into the right side
of your neck.
Okay, windshield wiper and backup.
(22:09):
We always in Yin think aboutmuscles stretching, which is a
pretty limited view of whatmuscles do.
But we could even limit thatmore by not acknowledging the
various ways that we can pull amuscle into traction.
We can create mechanicaltension, not just via a
(22:35):
lengthwise stretch, but also bya torsion, a twisting, which is
what you're doing here.
Two more only.
Okay, next time, both knees areto the left, you'll leave them
(23:01):
there.
Maybe you'll use your hand tohelp you arrange your chin in a
way that you're really confident, comfortable and you have
something to explore before yourelease your arms out to the
sides.
Release your arms out to thesides, yes, okay, now use your
(23:25):
breath.
Use your breath to explore theright side of your neck.
(23:45):
So the sternocleidomastoid areusually not super involved in
breathing, but they can be veryuseful in a pinch.
Mostly when we see thesternocleidomastoid being used
(24:07):
for the active breathing, it'swhen we're breathing very high
into the chest, when we'refeeling anxious or scared, right
, the sternocleidomastoid canactually help you to lift the
ribs to draw air into the lungs,which is probably one reason
(24:33):
why anxious people almost alwayshave neck pain, because
sternocleidomastoid are notexactly the right guy for the
job of breathing day in and dayout.
But they will do the jobvaliantly if we ask them to.
Okay, let's take one morebreath here.
(25:43):
Windshield wipers and theneverything returns to the middle
.
Everything returns to themiddle and you'll take a break.
However, you feel like youcould take a break most
(26:03):
productively for a short timenotice.
The two sides of your neck Nowthe feet are flat again.
(26:30):
The feet are flat again.
They don't have to be wide,unless that's just more
comfortable for you and you'regoing to take your two hands and
you're going to place them onthe top of your head.
I would prefer that your righthand is under your left hand,
(26:55):
your elbows point up to theceiling and then your fingers
are just going to come down tothe back of your head a little
bit, so that your elbows arepointed straight up to the sky.
So your palms are on the top ofyour head and your fingers are
on the back of your head.
Your elbows are pointed upbecause your arms are just
(27:16):
slightly squeezed in.
Guys, use your hands to gentlylift the weight of the head away
from the blanket and then keeppulling your elbows forward,
(27:37):
like you could roll up onevertebra at a time, and it's
sort of like the cranial clockthat you were working with has
gotten really big, because nowthe six is at your middle back.
And then use your hands tosupport your head as you
articulate your vertebra, one ata time, back down and rest your
(27:58):
head on the blanket.
Ok, so, lifting up one vertebraat a time, your chin is
pressing down towards your chest, but not with a great deal of
effort, and then your hands holdyour head as you come back down
.
This time try to engage themuscles of the neck a little bit
(28:24):
, so your arms are helping, butyou're going to feel a nice
firmness in the neck and thenyou're going to feel that
firmness maintained as you loweryour head down.
But it also might feel a littlebit like a stretch.
Ok, hands do most of thelifting, but then the neck takes
(28:47):
over too, because, guess what?
It can help you to flex yourspine.
And then, oh, so slow, oh soslow, let's do one more, as slow
as you can, because I reallywant you to feel the muscles on
the front of your neck helping.
You'll.
(29:08):
Stay with your head up.
Your right hand remains on thetop of your head.
Your left hand, though, reachesfor your right knee, left hand,
right knee.
Draw your left hand, thoughreaches for your right knee,
left hand, right knee.
Draw your left knee, right knee, towards your right elbow.
(29:29):
Tuck your tail so your wholespine is flexed like you're a
snail.
So your left hand holding yourright knee, pulling your knee
towards your right elbow Neck,is engaged.
The whole spine is engaged.
One more breath.
Reach your right hand for yourright foot.
Lift that foot up and thenlower your head down.
(29:51):
Hold the foot for the halfhappy baby here.
So your right hand holds yourright foot.
Your right hand holds yourright foot or your right ankle
or your pants.
Yeah, your right knee moves outwide.
Bring it out wide.
Yeah, yeah, good.
And then either, if this poseis already pretty challenging
(30:14):
for you, keep your left footflat on the floor with the knee
pointed up.
If you have a little more spacein this pose, wing your left
knee out, bringing your leftfoot more to the middle of your
mat.
Here's my favorite for this Leftleg, fully extended.
Use your right hand to gentlypull down on the foot or ankle
(30:36):
or your pants, and bring yourleft fingertips to the floor,
that's, and bring your leftfingertips to your right
collarbone.
It feels different.
Now, right, there's stuffengaging.
Use your fingers Just gentlytapping, tap the place where
your chest becomes yourcollarbone, where your
(30:59):
collarbone becomes your neck,out to your shoulder, and feel
the firmness, feel the strengthPulling down on that foot or
ankle, feel that engagement, andthen rest your left hand, just
briefly.
Draw your chin down, come tothe six and then go from six to
(31:26):
the left, seven, eight, nine,back to the middle.
Only two more Six, seven, eight, nine.
One more center Six, seven,eight, nine.
(31:50):
Rest, bring your feet flat,rest your arms, notice the
difference between the right andthe left side of your neck.
(32:16):
I want someone to tell me whoand when and how did we decide
that when something hurts, it'ssafe to stretch it but not to
engage it.
When did that happen?
Because it's not true, I mean,it's patently false and really
(32:37):
harmful, by the way, that forsome reason we think, oh no, I'm
engaging it, this feelsdangerous, as opposed to oh, I'm
stretching it.
This feels good and beneficial.
Okay, so you're going to takeyour hands back onto the top of
(33:00):
your head with your elbowspointed up.
Your fingers are going to comearound to the back of your head,
your palms stay on the top.
Left hand is under.
Left hand is under the firstcouple of times.
It's just like you're going tolift the weight of your head,
hold it, cradle it for just amoment and then use your elbows
(33:20):
pulling forward to draw yourchin down, rolling up to a six,
which is now at the middle back,and then the arms do all the
heavy lifting back down.
So we can do this without usingthe neck.
But guess what?
It is safe for you to feel yourneck working.
In fact, it's good for you.
(33:41):
Okay, chin tuck as you come upand then maybe feel your chin
stretch away just slightly asyou come back.
It's very, very slight, veryslight.
One of these times, as you rollup, I want you to let the
muscles help.
It feels like they're themuscles in the front of the neck
(34:02):
, the muscles that are actuallyhelping.
Well, it's sort ofstrenucleomastoid, but it's a
lot of the muscles which flexyour spine.
They're working on the vertebraof your spine.
Yes, let's do two more.
I know it's hard and if you'reone of those people that's like,
(34:25):
oh my gosh, I can feel my neck,I don't feel safe Maybe you
just lay and you just imaginethis, but I want to remind you
it is safe for you to use yourneck Last time coming up and
stay.
So the left hand remains, theright hand, grabs that left knee
and pulls it towards your leftelbow, and you use that hand to
(34:46):
help you tuck your tail.
All of the muscles of the spineare participating in this
flexion.
So, from the back of your skullto the tip of your tail, your
spine is committed to flexinghere the whole spine, not one
area more than another.
That chin is tucked, the elbowis pulling, okay, and then
(35:12):
you'll bring the shin tovertical.
You'll grab the foot or theankle with your left hand, lower
your head down for the halfhappy baby.
So your left hand holds yourleft foot or ankle or your pants
.
What are you gonna do with thatright leg?
(35:34):
Are you gonna keep your footflat?
Are you gonna extend your leg?
Are you gonna wing it?
Now pull down with your lefthand and use your right
fingertips, starting at yourcollar bone, but feel the
pectoral peck, major, as itbecomes the collar bone, and
then feel the neck as it engages.
It's working and it's safe.
(35:58):
It's safe for this muscle towork and engage.
That is its dharma Muscle doesone thing it contracts.
Everything else is something wedo to it, just tapping, tapping
(36:19):
.
Now, if you need a break, youcan take it, otherwise you'll
release that right hand, you'lldraw your chin down to the six
and this time we're moving tothe right, toward the three, so
(36:42):
we'll go five, four, three andcome back to the center.
You're gonna do that two moretimes only, and it's not about a
deeper stretch, it's just aboutexperiencing Four, three,
center.
We have one more Tucking downto six, rolling to the right.
(37:10):
Five, four, three, center.
Rest, feet flat or legs long,however you feel like you can
rest, arms rest.
Compare the two sides of yourneck.
Everybody always asks me canyou show me some good stretches
(37:55):
for my neck, because I have thisneck thing Nobody ever says.
Can you show me some goodexercises to really engage the
muscles of my neck, strengthenthe muscles of my neck?
Actually, that's not true.
I had somebody ask me to dothat last week, which was kind
(38:16):
of cool, but it wasn't becauseof neck pain.
So, okay, guys, you're gonnabring your two feet flat, if
they're not already.
(38:36):
You're gonna use your hands tohelp you push that blanket back
out from under your head, soit's no longer under your head,
but it's still very close athand, okay.
So your head is flat, your headis on the floor, yes, and then
you're gonna bring your feetreally close together and as
your knees open up wide, you'regonna let your spine kind of
(39:00):
shrink into that extension soyou'll feel your lumbar spine
arch and also the back of yourneck might arch, right, okay.
And then, as your knees comeback together, I'd like for you
to push a little with your feet,push them forward, but don't
let them move and feel yourwhole spine kind of flatten out
(39:21):
onto the mat, so your lumbarflatten, the back of your neck
flatten.
Your chin is gonna just lightlydraw down and then, as your
knees open into the butterfly,you're gonna feel your whole
spine kind of shrink into itsarches, into its natural arches,
and as your knees come backtogether, you're gonna push with
your feet and you're gonna feelyour whole spine lengthen and
(39:44):
flatten.
Okay, let's do a few more ofthese.
So both of these movements arean exaggerated way for your
spine to live in the world,right In the exaggerated arches,
and also in what we call anaxial extension.
When you flatten your wholespine out, this is an unnatural
place to be all the time.
(40:05):
That is a movement you can make, not something you should be in
all the time.
Okay, let's do three moreexplore the arches those
exaggerated arches but alsoexplore the axial extension.
That's lengthening the spineout, trying to flatten that.
Neither of those are positionsthat you should be in all the
(40:27):
time.
Okay, but they are positionsthat we should do sometimes.
Good, and let's see, the nexttime your knees are opened up
wide, you're in the arches.
You're just gonna stay.
(40:47):
Now, if you would like, you canbring your blocks under the
thighs in the half, in the fullbutterfly the spine butterfly
because you're gonna be therefor a little bit and I don't
want you to be superuncomfortable, because that's
not a practice about your hips,right?
Okay?
Use your breath to explore thetwo sides of the front of your
(41:11):
neck.
Let's take one more breath, useyour hands to help you draw
(42:58):
your knees back in and, as bestas you can, allow the spine to
resume a neutral position.
So it's not trying to flattenout, we're not attempting to
exaggerate the curves.
We've just found a perfectresting position for the spine.
(43:23):
Back of the neck, all the way toyour tailbone.
I'll have you draw two knees into your chest.
(43:46):
Use your hands to hold yourknees and your chest and, with
your grip pretty strong on thoselegs, tuck your chin and one
(44:08):
vertebra at a time.
Lift your head and even yourshoulders.
If you can use those arms, pullso the whole spine is flexed.
You're making a little snailshape.
And then here's where it getsreally interesting.
Use the strength of your spinalcolumn to lower down one
(44:30):
vertebra at a time.
Let your head rest, let yourfeet come back to the mat
Neutral curves.
Draw your knees in.
Hold tight, one vertebra at atime.
Use that strong neck of yoursto lift your head up, tuck it
(44:57):
toward your knees and then, asslowly as you can, the whole
spinal column so strong just tosupport the weight of your head
against gravity.
When your head is resting, yourfeet come back to the mat.
Draw your knees in.
(45:23):
This is the last one, onevertebra at a time.
You can do it.
That neck of yours is strongand it is safe to feel it
engaging.
It's necessary this time.
As you're tucked, either holdyour ankles with your hands or
the sides of your feet with yourhands.
Bring your shins to vertical orvertical-ish.
(45:45):
Slowly lower your head backdown to the floor.
Bring those knees out a littlewider for your happy baby.
Lift your chin so you come upto the 12.
And then let's go to the right.
(46:07):
Let's go one, two, three andthen we're gonna go back up to
two, one, twelve, eleven, ten,nine.
Clockwise ten, eleven, twelve.
(46:29):
One, two, three.
Counterclockwise two, one,twelve, eleven, ten, nine.
Just a couple more Really slowwith the breath.
(46:50):
Last one over to the.
We need to end on nine.
(47:12):
So last one is on nine.
Back up to 12.
Use your hands, just gentlypulling into those feet Strong
(47:42):
shoulders, clavicles anchoredand release the feet.
Take a moment to observe thefront of your neck, the sides of
(48:03):
your neck.
It's safe to feel thesesensations, safe to feel.
(48:36):
So if you have a bolster, I'dlike for you to use it for the
next pose.
You'll have your legs extendedout long, so with a bolster,
your thighs will be on it.
Yes, anybody want a bolsterthat doesn't have one.
(48:59):
Yes, it's going under yourthighs, yeah, so I want you to
be ultra comfortable.
Bring that blanket back underyour head.
If there's anything else youneed, you'll use that as well.
(49:23):
We're not taking shavasana yet,though.
Go ahead and bring those kneesup.
The heels are going to be aboutas wide as your mat.
Whether you have a bolster underyour thighs or not and your
arms just resting, I want to doa pranayama with you, so we'll
(49:53):
start out very, very simple.
When you breathe in, I'd likefor you to feel as if your ear
holes are narrowing.
Your ear holes are going to getcloser together as you breathe
in, and keep them close as youbreathe out, and continue like
(50:20):
that.
So, as you breathe in, your earholes get closer together, and
as you breathe out, they stayclose together, and maybe at
certain portions of the breathcycle, you feel like you're
better at this than others.
That's normal.
We're not all going to be greatat something weird like this,
especially when we just startout, so be patient with yourself
(50:43):
and don't force it.
It's so gentle.
90% of it is in yourimagination.
Now I'm going to add on thereis a softer part of the roof of
(51:22):
your mouth.
Right there's the hard part,the front, and then the soft
palate is behind.
In addition to, in addition toear holes narrowing, I'd like
for you to feel the back of thetop of the mouth, arch the soft
palate arch and lift and see ifyou can keep it lifted as you
(51:49):
breathe in and out.
Okay, yes, and you'll practiceit a few times.
It's weird, it's very weird.
It might feel like you are atthe beginning of a yawn when you
get it just right, and it'spossible that you'll just yawn
(52:13):
too.
Sometimes that happens.
I'm going to add one more thingIn addition to the soft palate
arching upward, the floor ofyour throat will drop and sink.
So the top of your mouth, thebottom of your throat are moving
apart as your ear holes move in, and this can be a lot.
(53:04):
So if you feel like you need abreak, you just need to take a
normal breath or two, take anormal breath and then come back
when you're ready.
(53:52):
We'll do one more round and atthe end of this last exhale,
just let the tissues resumetheir neutral shape, resume the
(54:21):
spontaneous tempo of breath, sono longer manipulating length.
One more time, notice the frontof your neck and the next thing
(55:06):
to do is shavasana.
So if there's any change inposition or prepping that you
need, now's the time.
Just let the body sink and, forthe ideal, deep Breath, just
(55:47):
let the movement of the bondssink through.
Now we'll decide on which dipit in.
(56:09):
It's time to deepen the breath,time to restore movement and,
(58:43):
when you're ready, find your wayonto the side of your choice.
So lend to your hands and riseto your seat, press your palms
(59:18):
together in front of your heart,bow your head and take in a
nice breath into the front ofyour neck and a soft but
comprehensive exhale from thefront of your neck.
Just one more like that.
(59:44):
Thank you so much, everyone,for practicing today.
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