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What exactly is “lazy” yin yoga? In any case, yin yoga is already a low effort form of practice. It’s meant to create relatively little train and, for essentially the most part, you’re not trying to interact or contract the muscles. As a substitute, you’re letting gravity do a lot of the give you the results you want.

Nevertheless, in quite a lot of yin yoga poses, you do have to work to carry yourself within the pose. For instance, in low lunge, your legs and arms are still working to support yourself at the same time as you’re relaxing your hips.

I wanted you to have a yin yoga practice that was much more laid back for those days if you simply can’t bring yourself to do your usual intensity. Perhaps you’re feeling exhausted or overextended, or stressed and anxious.

You’re not pushing on this class. You literally don’t have to contract a single muscle. The intention is to give you the option to loosen up your entire body and rest. The intention here is to decelerate so you possibly can be present with yourself.

For this lazy yin yoga practice, I encourage you to make use of props, whether a bolster, bed pillows, couch cushions, or folded blankets. For me, there’s a mental shift in perspective that takes place when I exploit props. When I even have something there as support, I’m in a position to loosen up more. I find that after I don’t use props, I may be tempted to push myself a bit of past my comfort zone or a bit of past my edge without realizing it. It also means that you simply might need to make use of a bit of muscular effort to prop yourself up and it will possibly be harder to loosen up fully.

Forward folds are really an exquisite technique to activate and tap into our parasympathetic nervous system. That is the rest-and-digest a part of the nervous system. It sends signals to your body you can let go and decelerate so you possibly can loosen up every muscle. These yin yoga-style supported poses are supposed to be passive, meaning you possibly can allow yourself to ease into it and let gravity do the work.

If you happen to’ve been feeling depleted, giving an excessive amount of, or need to search out balance, this practice is for you. It’s an invite to decelerate, to put your personal well being first, and to rest deeply. You’ll be able to even do the practice in bed.

 

A forty five-Minute Lazy Yin Yoga Practice

It is a full body yin yoga practice great for all levels. You’re simply attempting to get super comfortable in every pose. I’m using my bolster, but don’t worry should you don’t have one because you possibly can reach for something that you could have at home, whether couch cushions or a bunch of bed pillows or blankets you can fold and stack on top of each other. You only wish to have something you can work with. And also you don’t need to make use of props of any sort. It’s your selection. Concentrate on what feels supportive for you.

In each pose, see should you can let yourself give up to gravity, loosen up even your facial muscles, and find a snug rhythm of breath. There’s no pressure, no expectation, and no judgment here. Perhaps you ask yourself, what do I want? Why am I so depleted? What brought me out of balance? And the way can I come back to myself?

The support of a bolster or stacked pillows can encourage the body to release longheld tension. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

Reclined Butterfly Pose

Place a bolster, stacked pillows, or folded blankets lengthwise along the middle of the mat. Lean back and let the props support your upper back and the back of your head. You could possibly as an alternative do that pose along with your legs straight out in front of you or you may do the reclined butterfly version by bringing the soles of your feet to the touch and letting your knees fall open. Rest your arms alongside your body or loosen up your arms overhead to ask a mild opening through your shoulders, your arms, and your chest. Again, give attention to your needs. What feels good to you? Breathe deeply here, noticing where there may be tension.

After just a few minutes, stretch your arms, tuck your chin, and use your hands to support you as you slowly make your technique to a seated position. Take your time. Practice whatever feels nice here to release this pose, possibly dropping your knees in a windshield wiper motion back and forth.

Using support beneath the brow in the shape of a bolster or stacked pillows allows the neck, shoulders, and upper back to loosen up. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

Seated Forward Fold

Come into any seated forward fold that you simply’d like. You could possibly keep your legs straight, although you possibly can definitely bend the principles and bend your knees here. You’ll be able to take your legs out to the side. You could possibly keep your feet together and let your knees collapse. I’m going to take my legs straight in front of me and rest my head on the bolster. Use as much support as you would like or simply let gravity do the give you the results you want and let yourself dangle in space. Again, it’s your selection. Concentrate on what feels supportive for you within the moment.

Allow yourself to get a bit of heavier every time you exhale. Notice if any tension began to creep up through your arms, your shoulders, your neck. Let it release. Feel your breath go all the best way all the way down to your lower belly and lower back. Stay here for several minutes.

Once you’re ready, you possibly can push your hands into your bolster or the ground to begin rolling up, nice and slow, staying present here to the experience.

In between longheld yin yoga poses, a brief and straightforward twist will help release tension within the lower back. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

Seated Twist

Before we go into our next yin yoga pose, we’re going to take a seated twist. I wish to do twists after forward folds as a technique to further release the lower back. Bring your legs out in front of you. Bend your right knee and right foot excessive of your left thigh and place it on the ground outside your left knee. Really push down into your big toe here. Hug that thigh in toward your belly, lift the crown of your head up, and pause here as you breathe.

As you twist, inhale and straighten through the spine, exhale and ease into the twist. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

Twist to the proper as you push your right hand into the ground behind you to maintain your spine straight. Use your left arm to tug your right thigh to your belly. Hold here for just just a few breaths. Keep attempting to lift and lengthen as you push into your right big toe. Then release and do the identical thing on the opposite side.

Taking cushioning beneath your chest and head in Child’s Pose still allows for a hip-opening stretch but with less effort. Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

Child’s Pose

You’ll be able to practice Child’s Pose with or without your props, selecting what works for you. Kneel in your mat. Your big toes come together and your knees go as wide as you prefer to. We’re not chasing sensation here. You’ll be able to either do that with the support of your prop beneath your chest or you possibly can just do the regular version of Child’s Pose where you bring your brow all the way down to the mat or possibly onto your hands.

If you happen to’re using props, you possibly can either rest your brow directly on the bolster or, since that’s not comfortable for me, I wish to turn one ear onto the bolster. If you happen to’re turning your head to the side, you’ll wish to turn the opposite way halfway through the pose.

Take your time to get comfortable. You’ll be able to mess around with the location of your bolster as well. You’re giving yourself permission to loosen up and just breathe here. Stay here for just a few minutes.

Take your time as you slowly lift yourself to a seated position.

Supported Bridge brings release to the hip flexors in additional ways than one. Here you discover stretch along each the straight leg and the bent leg. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

One-Legged Supported Bridge

If you happen to’re using a bolster or pillows, turn it so it’s horizontal across the mat. You’re going to lower yourself onto you back with the prop underneath your hips. I find it easier to first sit on the bolster after which lower myself down, although other people prefer to lower down after which slide the bolster underneath. Whatever you’d like. Just be certain you could have your lower hips really grounded here.

We’re going to take a stretch from here. Pull your right knee in toward your belly or let it fall out to the side of your chest and either straighten your left leg or bend your knee and let your left foot rest on the mat. Perhaps try closing your eyes and stay here for about 10 breaths or so.

Knees to chest can bring a welcome stretch to the lower back. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

Bring your left knee in toward your chest and squeeze yourself in here. For me, this compression within the chest feels nice, nevertheless it’s not for everybody. As a substitute, you possibly can stretch your legs up toward the ceiling and do a waterfall variation. Do what feels best for you.

Waterfall is a middle-of-the-room version of Legs Up the Wall that may be done with only slight effort. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

Loosen up through your shoulders and your neck, staying present with the rhythm of your breath. Stay here for about 10 breaths or so after which switch sides.

It could be easy to tighten the upper body in a reclined twist. Let your shoulders rest on the mat reasonably than keep them tense. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

Reclined Twist

Slide your bolster or props toward the back of your mat so you possibly can have your feet flat on the mat. Open your arms right into a cactus shape, move your hips a bit of to the proper, after which drop each knees and thighs over to the left. Keep releasing your right shoulder into the ground. I wish to rest my left hand on my right thigh to encourage it to remain where it’s. You’ll be able to adjust here in any way that you simply need. Stay here for several breaths.

In between and after a twist, it will possibly be restorative to bring the spine back to center and remain still. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

Let’s release that side and you possibly can float your knees back to center and pause. Bring your feet to the mat and take them wide. Let your knees fall in against each other and possibly rest your hands in your lower belly. If you happen to like, you possibly can stretch your arms overhead and take just a few breaths, here noticing the consequences of the twist. Then set yourself up for a similar pose on the opposite side. Stay here for several breaths.

Come back to center and stay still for only for just a few more moments to integrate the pose. Be certain you’re not rushing or chasing the following thing.

Sliding something beneath your knees in Savasana, even a rolled blanket, can relieve pressure in your lower back. (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

Savasana

Next, is the ultimate leisure pose. I’m going to do it with my bolster under knees, so if you could have one, you possibly can actually use it in that fashion or can just have your legs straight.

Let yourself take up some space. Together with your arms, shrug your shoulders down and away out of your ears, palms facing up. That is our last pose of total give up. That is the embodiment of rest. It’s necessary to not skip Savasana in any practice. It teaches us patience, it teaches us the worth of resting more and doing less. Simply be present with yourself. Stay here so long as you want.

Reawaken very slowly, first with deeper breaths after which with little movements through your fingers and toes, letting those movements get larger and greater. You’ll be able to turn to at least one side, pausing here, not rushing to the following thing.

Once you feel ready, you possibly can take a snug seated position, sitting tall, and produce your hands together. Observe how you are feeling now versus if you first got here onto your mat. Thanks so very much for doing this very laid back yin yoga practice with me.

About Our Contributor

Kassandra Reinhardt is an Ottawa-based Yin Yoga and vinyasa yoga instructor, YouTuber, writer, and the face behind Yoga with Kassandra. She is on a mission to assist others feel great with yoga. One in every of the primary yoga instructors to embrace online teaching, Kassandra’s YouTube channel has grown to greater than 2.1 million subscribers and has over 230 million views. Kassandra has truly provided accessibility to yoga and he or she is expanding her expertise further with the recent release of her guided yoga journal, My Yoga Journey: A Guided Journal, and her each day affirmation card deck, I Radiate Joy.