Yoga with Melissa

Chakra Yin Yoga

Our energy is so distracted, scattered and fragmented that often we experience insomnia, feel exhausted, burned out, anxious and depleted. In this chakra yin yoga class we will tonify yin at each chakra to build and fortify yin. Instead of searching desperately for energy outside of ourselves this yin yoga class tonifies yin at the level of each chakra to rebuild the vital energy and fortify chi from the inside out.

Yin yoga works with the deepest layers of our body, the connective tissues that wrap around the joints and the bones and the subtle energetic body known as the meridians. Instead of rushing around on the surface of our lives, yin yoga asks us to slow down, be still, soften and move deeply into the more dense parts of our bodies. Experiencing the depth of energy that is possible from the inner world allows for balanced and flowing chi.

The root chakra corresponds to the earth element and our connection to earth and home. To tonify yin here, we will take energy that is often disconnected, anxious, restless, and often overthinking and bring it back down into our bodies and connect it to our place on the earth. The earth is a sacred place that provides our most basic needs from nourishing food to shelter for rest. How often when we are ¨home¨ do we actually allow ourselves to rest and be nourished? How often are our minds elsewhere?

From a yin perspective, the second chakra is about the movement of chi through the subtle energy body. Too much work, workaholism, not enough rest and play leads to an imbalance in this chakra. When the chi moves without blockages or excess through the meridian pathways we feel balanced, smooth, harmonious flow in our emotional and energetic bodies. This chakra is about opening to the movement of your life force energy in your body and feeling the subtle flow of the rivers of energy within you.

The third chakra corresponds to the fire element and power. We have a lot of examples of fire being in excess and out of control in our culture. A lot of us have experienced being burned out. Through the practice of yin yoga we can tonify yin and stoke the slow burning gentle glowing embers of our fire to keep us warm and sustain our energy over time.

Yin tonification in the heart chakra is necessary for excessive heart chakra characteristics such as being overly ruled by your emotions, inability to let go of past pain, poor boundaries and inability to say no, tolerating too much from others to the point of poor emotional self care. It is incredibly important that the foundational elements of earth, water and fire of the first three chakras, a sense of connection to the earth and inner home, a connection with your subtle energetic body and the slow burning and glowing embers of your inner fire be well established before we enter into the territory of the unstruck or anahata. It is the emptiness of space that gives rise to the warmth of compassion towards all beings of which we are one.

The throat chakra is all about communication. We live in a world of excess noise. In order to tonify the yin of the fifth chakra it is important to spend time in stillness and solitude to connect with the truth of our inner world before we hope to allow for its expression in the outer world.

When it comes to the third eye we outsource our imagination through television and excess time on social media. To tonify yin in the third eye we need to stop looking outside of ourselves for all the answers and inspiration and rest deeply in our inner darkness, developing an inner confidence and strength in our inner vision. It is by dropping inwards in this way, relying on stillness, silence, that we will be illumined and be blessed by the light within.

Restorative Yin Yoga

This 60 min restorative yin sequence is a full class offering the best of yin yoga and restorative yoga. Through props we will apply the first principle of yin and find the appropriate edge, that place where we can experience sensation, but not too much intensity. Too much intensity in a yin yoga pose keeps the chi up at the surface level of the muscles and fails to coax the chi deeper into the dense layers of connective tissues, bones and the subtle energetic meridian pathways.

In this restorative yin class we will pay close attention to our bodies and soften those hard edges that we often push ourselves towards on the yoga mat and in life. Through the use of yoga props and non-abandoning attention we can offer ourselves tender care and consideration through this gentle yoga practice. Poetry from David Whyte will round out our contemplative practice.

Restorative Yin Yoga Sequence:

Legs Up the Wall, Sphinx Pose, Reclined Butterfly, Reclined Twist, Legs Up the Wall

Props Needed:

Yoga Mat, 2 blankets, Bolster, Meditation Cushion, 2 blocks, Yoga Strap, Eye Pillow

#yogawithmelissa #yinyoga #restorativeyoga

Related Videos

To embody the principles of yin in a deep way, join our membership community. In November we will be focusing on the principles of yin.

Get to know Yin Yoga in this 5 day series of full length, full body beginner yin yoga classes will introduce you to the principles of yin yoga, the philosophy of yin yoga, why we work with our connective tissues, ligaments and joints, and how yin yoga affects your meridians, energy and mindfulness. I will also include a bonus class that will review the principles of yin yoga in a shorter 35 minute yin yoga class.

Bedtime Yoga

This 60 minute hatha yoga bedtime sequence will help to prepare your body for deep rest. Hatha translates as ¨sun and moon¨ yoga means to yoke, to join or unite.

In this hatha yoga class we will be connecting with the lunar energy which is more quiet, reflective and receptive than the sun energy.

Our deepest self is already relaxed and calm and ready to drift off to sleep at bedtime. We simply get overwhelmed by our thoughts and emotions throughout the day and have a difficult time letting them go when it comes time for sleep.

The hatha yoga postures in this yoga bedtime sequence are designed to connect you with the receptive quality of your body that is ready to let go and enter into rest and healing repair at night.

We will begin our hatha yoga class with hand to big toe pose which calms the mind and relieves stress in preparation for a deep night's sleep.

Cat pose will soothe your central nervous system and reduce stress in preparation for sleep. Pigeon pose will relieve the mild depression and anxieties of the day and help prepare your hips for standing half moon balancing pose.

Standing forward folds with calm the mind and reduce stress and anxiety. Half Moon Balancing pose will draw in the scattered energy of the day, focusing the mind. By giving the mind focus, this standing balancing pose will relieve stress. The seated forward fold series is soothing for your nervous system and relieve stress, anxiety and mild depression. The forward folds will also help to reduce insomnia.

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7 Days to Better Sleep with Yoga

Yoga for Exhaustion

When we are exhausted it is not uncommon for us to feel anxious, scattered, unbalanced, exhausted, tired, moody, restless and experience insomnia. Exhaustion is a sign that we have overspent our energetic reserves.In this yoga nidra guided meditation we will gather the flow of chi, accumulating prana with responsibility, skill and sensitivity. We will give our depleted selves the necessary time and space to rest deeply, letting go of the momentum of the seeking mind and compulsive doingness.

This yoga nidra is a powerful and healing guided meditation to relieve chronic fatigue and counter exhaustion. This deeply poetic and lyrical yoga nidra will offer you the gift of deep rest and the grace of presence in your heart.

Yoga nidra is a guided meditation that takes you to a place of relaxed, spacious awareness. You will be guided into a state of effortless non-doing. Through your experience of yoga nidra you will enter into a conscious sleep where your mind slows down and your thoughts move further and further away from you. Yoga nidra quiets the inner noise of your mind and allows you to experience deep rest.

The guided verbal instructions will lead you to a state of consciousness that are somewhere between waking, dreaming and sleeping. In order to practice yoga nidra you want to be as comfortable as possible. You can practice it on a yoga mat, but you could also practice it in bed, on the couch or in a chair. You are going to be here for about 20 minutes, so it is a good idea to have some padding underneath you and a blanket overtop of you in case you get cool. You might want to have a pillow under your head so that your chin is slightly lower than your forehead.

This will allow you to access your parasympathetic nervous system – your rest and digest. Using and eye pillow or covering your eyes will allow you to access your inner senses.You may even fall asleep and that is not a problem. Should you feel discomfort or resistance to your practice, know that it is not unusual. If physical discomfort or pain persists feel free to adjust your position to become more comfortable.

Distractions are often a good way to come back to our practice. Remember, you are always free to step away from your yoga nidra practice at anytime if it becomes overwhelming. If at anytime, the words of the guided meditation do not work for you, let them go, and be with the guidance of your own inner teacher, it always knows best.

Member Audio Download of Yoga Nidra Morning Meditation: Click Here

Join us in our Membership Community this September for our 30 Day Ayurvedic Morning Routine Challenge

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Sign up here for 7 days to better sleep with yoga and I will send you 1 video a day for 7 days with the best of yoga, ayurveda, self massage and pranayama (or breath practices) to help you get the best night’s sleep.

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Yoga Nidra Full Class

https://youtu.be/1cb-aRJTrDQ

Short Videos about Yoga Nidra

https://youtu.be/saPGPmxtoQ8

Yin Yang Yoga for Night

This full length 60 min Yin Yang Yoga for night time combines the best of yin yoga and hatha yoga to protect your heart in preparation for the best night sleep. We will focus on the fire element and the pericardium meridian. The pericardium is not only provides the heart with physical protection but also protects the heart from disruption from excessive emotional energies such as anger, fear and grief. Given the emotional ups and downs of our days taking time to nourish the pericardium meridian and organ is a soft and gentle way to nurture our hearts in preparation for a deep sleep at night.

During the first half of this class while your muscles are cool, we will practice yin yoga poses to access the pericardium meridian which runs along the inside of your arms and the length of your torso. The long, still, soft holds will allow us to gently coax the chi through the pericardium meridian in order to protect the heart and prepare our bodies for sleep. During the second half of the class we will continue to move with a quiet and easy pace through the hatha yoga postures which will make use of qi gong inspired arm movements to stimulate the pericardium meridian, drawing that protective energy down and into the heart center.

Yin Yoga Sequence: Savasana, Bananasana. Broken Wing Pose, Heart Melting Pose

Yang Portion, Hatha Yoga Sequence: Lunge Pose or Anjaneyasana, Downward Facing Dog or Adho Mukha Svanasana, Tadasana or Mountain Pose, Goddess Victory Squat or Utkata Konasana, Tree Pose or Vrksasana, Goddess Victory Squat or Utkata Konasana, Downward Facing Dog Adho Mukha Svanasana, Cobra or Bhujangasana, Reclined Twist or Jathara Parivartanasana, Childs Pose or Balasana, Savasana or Corpse Pose

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Restorative Yoga

This restorative yoga class is perfect for when you are exhausted and tired. Whether you have chronic fatigue syndrome, adrenal fatigue or you are just plain worn out from work, school, and looking after your family, this restorative yoga class is designed to renew your energy. It will allow you to tap into your parasympathetic nervous system and deeply release fatigue.

In this restorative yoga class we are going to relax without blame, judgment or self-criticism. We are going to offer ourselves kindness and connect with our exhaustion by offering ourselves rest in a compassionate way.

Each posture in this restorative yoga sequence will be held for 10 minutes. The long holds in the restorative poses purposefully take time to renew your energy reserves. This class is designed to give you the deep rest you need so that you can experience a restoration of your vitality and a rejuvenation of your energy reserves.

Restorative Yoga Sequence: Legs Up the Wall, Restorative Locust Pose, Restorative Shoulder Stand, Restorative Child´s Pose, Savasana

Props Needed: Yoga Mat, 2 blankets, Bolster, Meditation Cushion, 2 blocks, Yoga Strap, Eye Pillow

Related Videos

For more support when you are tired and exhausted, join us in our membership community this month for our 30 Day Ayurvedic Evening Routine Challenge

https://www.melissawest.com/membership/membership-sign-up/

Sign up here for 7 days to better sleep with yoga and I will send you 1 video a day for 7 days with the best of yoga, ayurveda, self massage and pranayama (or breath practices) to help you get the best night’s sleep.

Dosha Balancing Yin Yoga

Ayurveda is a five thousand year old system of medicine originating in India. It is known as a sister practice to yoga. In fact, Ayurveda, the wisdom of life, has recommends specific yoga practices for specific body types.

Ayurvedic medicine believes that each of us has a unique makeup or constitution. Vata dosha is made up of air and ether, pitta dosha water and fire, and kapha dosha water and earth. There are specific lifestyle recommendations for each dosha.

In this yin yoga class, I will modify the practice for each dosha.

Vata dosha literally translates as wind. With vata dosha the wind blows, but not for long. In other words vata dosha exhausts themselves quite easily. It is common for vata dosha to have low energy, constipation and bloating. In this yin yoga class we will focus on yoga poses that gently tonify the large intestine to relieve bloating and constipation.

Pitta dosha are filled with fire and heat. It is important that their yoga practice helps to release the fire that builds particularly within their small intestine. This yin yoga practice will be surrendering and receptive to relieve tension and irritability for our pitta dosha friends.

Kapha doshas have the most endurance and consistence of all the doshas. By opening up their chests we will help to reduce the stagnation and congestion and dispel the accumulation of mucus.

For more support in balancing your doshas, Join us in our membership community this month for our 30 Day Ayurvedic Morning Routine Challenge

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Morning Meditation

This full length yoga nidra morning meditation will wake up or awaken to the place that already exists in ourselves that can trust in our own intrinsic goodness and see how it lives in others.

Basic goodness being those qualities of presence, wakefulness, compassion, bravery, kindness, luminosity, presence, luminosity, tenderness, insight, wisdom, inner confidence, worthiness, peace, spaciousness, dignity, wholeness and connection that come before the agenda, busy-nes, the strategy and the achievement oriented activity of our days.

Before we speed off into our days, we can slow down and appreciate the freshness of each moment of our precious lives. We can appreciate in these moments of stillness.

Through the techniques offered in yoga nidra we awaken, wake up to sense the presence and wholeness that is revealed.

Once we are aware of this steady force of wakefulness we can always be connecting with it.

When we spend this time in yoga nidra each morning we get to know the unique way that basic goodness is expressed in ourselves and we awaken to the way it is expressed in each living being and we can trust the unfolding of our it in our lives.

Member Audio Download of Yoga Nidra Morning Meditation

Join us in our Membership Community this September for our 30 Day Ayurvedic Morning Routine Challenge

Click Here

Sign up here for 7 days to better sleep with yoga and I will send you 1 video a day for 7 days with the best of yoga, ayurveda, self massage and pranayama (or breath practices) to help you get the best night’s sleep.

In September 2018 our Members are being supported in their mornings with our Ayurvedic Morning Routine 30 Day Challenge

What you will get with this Month Long Focus in our membership community:

1. Live Classes *with 2 way video* Every Monday to support you in our weekly Ayurvedic Themes

2. Daily Posts from me to support you in our Ayurvedic Practices

3. A Live Yin Yoga Class on Sunday September 16 to support balancing your Ayurvedic Doshas

5. Membership Exclusive Yoga Classes to Balance Your Dosha

4. Daily Yoga Practices to Support you in the Daily Yoga Connection

6. Support for your Dosha in our Stick to Your Mat and On My Mat Today forums

7. Support for your own Dosha Self Care in our Self Care Forum

8. Our book Club Closely follows along with our Week 1 theme

9. Recipes from our Recipe Section to Support Your Dosha in Week 2

10. Support from our Moonstruck Section for Week 1

It is not too late to join in!

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Restorative Yoga

Ayurveda is a five thousand year old system of medicine in the world originating in India. It is known as a sister practice to yoga. In fact, Ayurveda, the wisdom of life, has recommends specific yoga practices for specific body types.

Ayurvedic medicine believes that each of us has a unique makeup or constitution. Vata dosha is made up of air and ether, pitta dosha water and fire, and kapha dosha water and earth. Their are specific lifestyle recommendations for each dosha.

In this restorative yoga class, I will modify the practice for each dosha.

Restorative yoga is the perfect style for vata dosha, it allows vata dosha to slow down and release the excess energy from anxiety. Staying close to the ground and well-propped in a restorative yoga class is incredibly grounding and helps vata dosha come out of their minds and into their bodies. The long resting holds in the restorative poses create stillness and give vata doshas time to just be and rest.

Vata dosha tends to be most prone to digestive issues and gas particularly during seasonal transitions. Poses the compress and lengthen the large intestine in restorative yoga classes can be particularly pacifying for vata dosha.

Restorative yoga is also the perfect style of yoga for driven and ambitious pitta doshas. The fire in the belly of pitta dosha means that they are organized and determined. Pitta dosha benefit from restorative yoga practices because it allows them to chill out and relax and let go of their ambitions. With restorative yoga, pitta doshas can learn that rest and self care ARE productive. The effort in a restorative yoga class is to let go of tension and to focus on letting go of effort.

Letting go, relaxing, chilling out in a restorative yoga class can help pitta dosha alleviate anger, acne, heartburn, acid reflux, heart attacks and even the risk of strokes.

Restorative yoga is actually probably least effective for kapha dosha. Kapha dosha need practices that are stimulating and which will help them let go of attachments. It is easy for kapha dosha to become stuck physically, mentally and emotionally, so getting moving is important for kapha dosha. Kaphas have wonderful memories, they rarely forget. Kapha yoga practice should be dynamic and flowing. It should focus particularly on opening up their chests where excess mucus can accumulate.

For more support in balancing your doshas, Join us in our membership community this month for our 30 Day Ayurvedic Morning Routine Challenge

https://www.melissawest.com/membership/membership-sign-up/

Yoga and Ayurveda Full Yoga Classes - Click Here

Dosha Balancing

In today's yin yang ayurvedic yoga class we are going to balance the 3 doshas.

We are going to offer grounding, support and stabilization to the airy vata doshas.

We are going to remind our driven and competitive pitta doshas that less is more and yoga is not a competition.

Focusing on poses that are cooling and relaxing will gently diffuse the intensity of pitta dosha. We will motivate and stimulate our slow and steady kapha doshas so that they can be energized.

The class will begin with a yin portion that focuses on one pose for each dosha: a grounding pose for anxious vata dosha, a heart opening pose to stimulate calm and steady kapha dosha, and a cooling forward fold to calm fiery and ambitious pitta dosha.

From there we will move into the yang portion of this ayurvedic yoga class with a focus on tailoring the yoga practice to each dosha.

With each pose I will speak to which poses are best for each dosha.

Sometimes specific doshas will be given specific options for poses or asked not to do specific poses so as not to aggravate their dosha.

Often times, it will be a matter of how each dosha approaches the sequence so as to balance their specific ayurvedic constitution.

For more support in balancing your doshas, Join us in our membership community this month for our 30 Day Ayurvedic Morning Routine Challenge

https://www.melissawest.com/membership/membership-sign-up/