Yoga with Melissa

Yin Yoga

This 30 min yin yoga will open your heart and pressurize the tissues of your heart meridian to create the conditions for compassion and self compassion to naturally arise within you. This 30 minute yin yoga class will focus on your upper body, fire element and is great for your posture as well.

We all innately embody compassion. We have been taught to take refuge in our minds, and to not embody the heart space of the body. What is most fundamental in our lives is love. Compassion is when we meet some internal or external suffering. With compassion, there will be a felt sense of tenderness in our bodies.

In yin yoga we are not trying to get somewhere or get over anything. We are interested in allowing the felt sensation of gentle pressure of the qi in our bodies to be our compassionate guide through our class.

Yin Yoga Sequence

Fish Pose

Half Heart Melting Pose

Broken Wing Pose

Fish Pose

Props Needed: 2 blocks

Non Sleep Deep Rest for Beginners

In this non sleep deep rest I will gently guide you through a body scan to help you relax, reduce stress and fall asleep more easily.

Non-sleep deep rest, or yoga nidra, is the kind of rest you get when your body is in a relaxed state, but your mind is still awake. NSDR involves slowing down your brain wave frequency, similar to what happens during sleep, only that in this case you're awake.

Non sleep deep rest is a very easy guided meditation that you do lying down. It will take you into deep non-REM delta wave sleep while you are completely awake and aware. It is deep awareness, stillness, rest and relaxation that you can do at any time of day or night. Think of it like a relaxing body scan.

Non sleep deep rest is recommended by Stanford neuroscientist and researcher Dr. Andrew Huberman. According to Dr. Huberman, non sleep deep rest can put the body in a restorative state, similar to sleep. I feel grateful to have been listening to Dr. Huberman’s podcast for several years and to have heard him lecture here at University of Victoria here in Victoria BC.

Vagus Nerve Qigong Exercises for Emotional Regulation

1. SHAKE THE TREE

2. PALMS MASSAGE at HEART

3. SWIMMING DRAGON

Shake the Tree - Releases sympathetic activation, that feeling of anxiety or anger, the need to fight or flee which will bring you into ventral vagus activation and a feeling of resilience, connection and safety.

Palms Massage at Heart - Rotate Palms at heart. When we are feeling emotionally regulated we feel safe to connect within, with our pets, with people, nature and in harmony with spirit.

Swimming Dragon - Place hands in prayer position. Push Hands one way and rotate head the other way. The vagus nerve travels through the neck. Healthy vagal tone means better emotional regulation.

* Remember, the most important thing for vagus nerve function is safe connection. HUGS!

belonging helps you to feel safe and secure. When you are connected, you are calmer and more positive

10 min Morning Qigong

This beginner qigong yoga fusion flow will combine some of the best yoga and qigong from a standing position. No props are needed, not even a yoga mat. The sequence will begin with knocking on the door of life to generate the vitality and life force energy that you need for your practice. You will follow with some purging qigong exercises to release sympathetic activation and negative qi so that you can move pure qi through your body during your morning practice to set you up for your day. From there we will follow up with several movements that will release your shoulders and your neck combining qigong movements in your upper body, with yoga shapes in your lower body. We will round out our qigong morning routine with a soothing yin massage and drawing down the heavens so that you can gather in whatever energy you need for the day.

Morning Qigong Yoga Flow for Beginners Sequence:

KNOCKING ON THE DOOR OF LIFE

SHAKING LIKE A TREE

DROPPING THE POST

ROOSTER SPREADS ITS WINGS in WARRIOR ONE

COMPETING DRAGONS in WARRIOR TWO

WHITE CRANE SPREADS ITS WINGS from TADASANA

YIN MASSAGE

DRAWING DOWN THE HEAVENS

10 min Morning Mudra Flow

This moving mudra series along with guided meditation and affirmations for your day will support you in self trust, trusting your inner guidance, finding freedom, harmony, balance, connecting with your inner truth, centering and grounding in your radiance light.

Props Needed: Meditation Cushion or Chair for Sitting

Mudras in the Series:

Vajrapradama Mudra

Hridaya Mudra

Garuda Mudra

Matsya Mudra

Samputa Mudra

Trimurta Mudra

Prithivi Mudra

Surya Mudra

Bhu Muda

Vagus Nerve Restorative Yoga

The pathway of the vagus nerve runs from the brainstem through the neck, throat, lungs, heart and digestive system. This restorative yoga class for the vagus nerve will focus on regulating your vagus nerve so that you can move through your days with more safety, connection, and ease.

When your vagus nerve is regulated you will be able to go with the flow, feel safely embodied, connected with yourself, people, pets, spirit and nature. You will feel at home in your environment and in harmony with your spirit. The common irritations of the day will not bother you and life will feel more manageable.

In this restorative yoga class for your ventral vagus nerve, we will focus on regulating your vagus nerve through the use of supportive props like a blanket, bolster, eye pillow, and blocks.

Restorative Yoga Sequence for Your Vagus Nerve

Vagus Nerve Reset

Myofascial Release for Diaphragm

Psoas Release over Bolster

Supported Fish Pose

Supported Twist

Savasana

Poem:

From Blossoms

BY LI-YOUNG LEE

Yin Yoga Grace

This 30 minute full yin yoga class with props will support you in cultivating grace with long holds. The focus will be on hips and hip openers with the support of props and lots of modifications. This full yin yoga class is great for back pain and lower back pain. It is suitable for beginners and intermediate level yin yogis and suggestions will be given for each level with props and modifications. 

30 minute Yin Yoga Sequence for Grace: 

Centering

Sleeping Swan

Shoe Lace with Rotation

Savasana

Oceanside 🌊 Yoga Nidra

This oceanside yoga nidra is a sacred and spiritual practice that is always available to carry you over the troubled waters of your life.  In this oceanside yoga nidra, I will lead you in a guided meditation through the layers of your body that might feel like the womb-like space in a sea of rest. When the tide moves away from the shore of you of your day to day activities, your brain waves will let go of mental activity such as problem solving, thinking and decision making. Your brain waves will slow down to the deeply relaxed theta state associated with sleep while still maintaining a trace of awareness. This form of meditation will allow you to let go of physical tension and emotional stress by calming your nervous system. You will descend deeply into the sweet waters of yoga nidra. 

This oceanside yoga nidra was filmed on Long Beach in Tofino, BC Canada.

Qigong Yoga Fusion

This hatha yoga qigong fusion class will combine hatha yoga with fountain pose from qigong. Starting in mountain pose, moving to tree pose. We will focus on the kinds of abundance that you want to draw into your life. Additionally, this class will open up your lungs so that you can breathe in more inspiration and good quality and integrity of qi. We will practice fountain pose from easy pose and finish our class in savasana with a poem by William Bly.

This short yoga class for abundance will focus on drawing in prosperity and abundance in a simple and easy way. It would be a great class to practice during the full moon to celebrate abundance and prosperity.

Poem: The Shocks we Put Our Pitchforks Into William Bly

Morning Energy Boost

In this short yoga class we will create an energy boost for focus and relaxation. By starting with centering we will gather the energy in stillness, connect with the energy of the earth and breathe into the deep resource of your kidneys to draw on the integrity of your qi.

Moving on to the spinal energy series we will release your spine and draw on the deep well of energy in your lower dantien, moving in through your body with ease.

Inspired by qigong, we will shake our body to draw energy into our organs and our joints. Locust pose will focus on the deep resource of prenatal qi available to us in our kidneys. Finally with matsyendrasana we will release excess qi and come back to our centers.

Our poem for today is:

I am laid bare by Zoey Quiney