Transform your stress with somatic yoga!

Transcript

hi I'm Amanda Baker and I am a licensed clinical social worker and 500 hour registered yoga instructor and today I wanted to offer some therapeutic yoga techniques it is a combination of yoga psychology which includes sematic experiencing exercises yoga based postures restorative postures and therapeutic language embedded in the process to fully support your relationship with with yourself to enhance your relationship with self so if you do have yoga blocks a bolster a blanket they are wonderful props to support the expression in the pose and allowing the pose the shape to take its effects through you it's not about you doing the yoga it's the yoga doing you so take a moment to grab what you need Maybe you pause the video and come back you can also use books instead of blocks you can use a pillow you can use a couch cushion lots of ways to modify and accommodate and to fully listen to your body so your body knows what is going to work best for you if I cue something or direct something and your body is saying nope I'm going to do it this way that is what is necessary and meant to be for you in the moment and your own benefits so to start take your blocks bring one block to the highest height another actually no we're going to start with one block and take the block to the middle height or the lowest height so the middle height or the lowest height either direction and then your bolster or couch cushion can rest on the block so you can bring it up to the middle height and come to a restorative child's pose so bring your knees to the width of the mat bring your sit bones to your heels you can take a blanket and even bring that underneath if your sit bones don't touch and then come all the way down onto the bolster and arrive so I'm a bit more flexible naturally that is the way that my body is shaped and designed no right or wrong allow yourself to settle in and breathe fully breathe through your back and sigh out your mouth and take a breath in and sigh out if you need to adjust the block I'm going to to go deeper so gravity will begin to use its effects gravity will use its [Music] skill to pull the muscles down towards the ground you can close your eyes and fully notice your experience to turn your attention [Music] inward notice the sounds lingering taste in your [Music] mouth your sense of touch with the bolster what you smell and even what you see even if your eyes are closed and begin to open yourself up to Pure positive energy that your truest self the energy the essence of you exists in the center of your heart and so you must clear out anything that is in front of your heart guarding your heart blocking your heart acknowledge the protectors and gently request that they may move to the side because you are [Music] ready breath as the cells [Music] open to bring in to receive and exhale to set free inhale to open and receive and exhale to set free you're welcome to lift your head and you may turn it to the other side so that you get the benefits of both sides in the shape you can adjust in your body and continue the Deep cleansing breaths and I will begin to count you down to move even closer and fully connect with the pure positive energy of you 10 start to turn inward 9 allow yourself to breathe eight opening up seven use your breath six start to move closer five feeling the light four the Rays they expand the energy fills you three even closer two begin to grab it one step towards it zero you're here [Music] something wonderful is happening for you right now you are welcome to set an intention this is a present based statement for your practice for the restorative benefits of your relationship with you how you sense and perceive and experience yourself and the [Laughter] world one more full breath in [Music] here and exhale Out start to press up onto your hands you can remove the block a little bit in front of you as you turn the bolster long side for your chest come up into all fours you can press your hands first onto the bolster you can kind of press in a little bit move a little bit side to side you're welcome to round in cat and then pull the belly down chest forward and cow if you want to take this a few times using your pillow or bolster or couch cushion nourishing yourself through the transitions through the motion [Music] to awaken and feel rested at the same time come back to neutral spine after your next exhale begin to walk your hands forward keep your hips raised so you may need to move the bolster to be underneath your chest so your hips and sit bones stay in line with your knees come down onto your chest it's a variation of puppy pose notice you might have a slight Arc in your back you can squeeze the core this may feel intense that is the purpose you can bring a block for your forehead or your chin so I'm going to have my chin rested on the Block you'll see The Arc in my back as I said this may feel intense and that is the purpose this might also feel completely releasing and opening and expanding the power power of this puppy pose may you soften in your muscles and breathe notice where you experience sensation notice where there's tension and discomfort intentional activation of your stress response and awareness of your thoughts and here we're going to this with new beliefs incantations so that the beliefs are experienced on the subatomic level so I will demonstrate so in order to open and experience this new belief we must think hear feel taste touch see it smell it that which you deeply desire to feel so perhaps it's a sense of peace or power maybe it's abundant maybe it's a sense of belonging not just know it in your thoughts but experience it fully in your body so it's an ie statement I Amanda think here see taste touch feel powerful I Amanda think see hear taste touch feel smell abundant I Amanda see think hear taste smell feel touch power I Amanda see think hear taste touch smell feel magical magnetic I Amanda see hear think taste touch smell feel deserving loving love so add in your name you can take this a few rounds on your own you can say it out loud from this shape notice the experience in your body body as you bring this up for yourself and then settle even more into [Music] bre allow yourself to make any sounds that we need to come out allow yourself to go even deeper and deeper into to a healthier level of body and mind one more breath in and out and slowly start to release as you come out of this shape you're welcome to bring your sit bones then to your heels so hero pose so the knees will bend I'm going to bring a block underneath my bottom and then my feet will come to the outside of the block I'm going to roll my shoulders back take some circles with my head and neck notice the effects of that shap maybe lift up and down lift your arms and hands up to the sky exhale Breathe It Out inhale lift the hands up to the sky exhale let it out one more time inhale lift you can be in a seated position if this seat does not feel best for you you bring it down and then take your thumb to your pointer finger middle finger ring and Pinky sat so you can say the sounds sat or you can add it in with one of those statements right like I feel good today I feel present today I feel great today I feel great today I feel peace today I feel happy today I feel play [Music] today one more time beautiful bring your hands down to your thighs you can open the Palms up to receive breathe let that fully resonate with your experience request your mind to inform your brain to send the signals to your body to absorb all of this pure positive energy in to be present with this moment to make changes on the cellular level to put on new lenses so that when you look back you see and remember things in a new way may come out of this seat bring yourself to a seated position if you're not already there take some circles your ribs chest one way and then the other so notice for the movement or the Stillness no right or wrong you receive the benefits of both One More Time One Direction Beautiful roll your shoulders up back and down now you can bring uh one leg in front so keep one knee bent and then take the other leg back behind you dear pose so this might be a challenge you can for you and your hips you can bring a blanket underneath your knee if that does not feel good for you can even come to the sole of your foot so that's going to help you come back onto your glute and sitbon so that your hip does not rise up so you can have the foot kind of across the midline so that you really feel this in your hip or you can have this all the way down you can also take the blanket another blanket or block back behind your uh glute and sit bone in the back if it's lifted so as I said notice if you're coming up bring it back down bring your hands together dear pose breathe lift and extend even more out of the side body up through the crown of your head get tall get allow the effects of this shape to show up through you I show up for myself and I am here with myself in my experience the emotions that I tend to avoid are able to open and reveal themselves here I am safe I am secure I am here for myself the emotion will show up for 90 seconds and then it will be set free pull the head back in line with your neck and spine maybe you lean back a little more this is a beneficial pose to practice daily especially if you tend to be tight in your hips see if if you can relax in your jaw at the same time can hold this for even longer then the [Music] video take one more breath here and out see if you can come into your sensory experience is it helpful to shift your attention to another area or to what you smell what you hear is it safer to be a little outside of self or more inward with your breath which one is better or worse for you you choose after your exhale release and then come to the other side so bring the opposite leg in front Bend at the knee and then the opposite leg that was back before we'll come back this time so it's about a 90° angle from your hip on this side lift it up and then draw it down one side may be different than the other again you can come up onto your foot and be here so this way both hips are down it still will be intense and that's the point it's consciously controllable doses of activating your stress response in your body to learn more about you and then complete the cycle often we get activated we stressed out and we stay there in this chronic disregulation and then we crash and we come all the way back down and we're tired we're detached we're fatigued we're not motivated if you can withstand this it will help you off the mat it will help you out there so hands together breathe it in get long and exhale out present with s in the joy in the reliability in the consistency of your own presence may you soften in the [Music] [Music] muscles and go deeper into yourself healthier level of body and mind allow the mind to settle a clearing of the thoughts and take another breath in and it out and let it go and then begin to release this shape bring your legs in in front of you SES of the feet down windshield wiper side to side and then you may come all the way down onto your back and have the bolster underneath your knees and have the blanket on top of the body or underneath your head as you come all the way down for our final shape into aasana as you rest every single muscle from the tips of your toes all the way up to the crowd of your head whole body full body this is you true you right here in this moment connected with your pure positive energy really feel it n allow it to absorb eight it goes through your whole body seven experience it with your breath six and fully believe it with your mind five going deeper four more relaxed BR restored 2 sinking sinking sinking oneop allow yourself to stay here for as long as possible you are so just you are it is a pleasure to offer to you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] 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