Latest / Ten-Minute Mornings / Morning Yoga for Tight Neck & Shoulders | Make Time for Yourself
Transcript
- James @ Daily Flow: Hello friends. Thanks for downloading the audio version of today's 10 minute mornings practice. The YouTube video is linked in the show notes. And if you're staying with just the audio, don't worry about doing it right. Just move and breathe in a way that feels honest. That's enough. James: If you're gonna take care of other folks, you better take 10 minutes for yourself. Hello friends, welcome to your daily flow 10 minute mornings practice. My name is James. This is Max. Be sure to practice with us till the end. We'll pull a card. Well, I'll pull a card and we'll set some intention together for the day. And be sure to like, subscribe, and do all those great YouTube things. Come to stand at the top of your mat, grounding your feet. Float your arms overhead. And then interlace your fingers, but keep the index fingers. No, you can't see it. Keep the index fingers pointing up to the ceiling. And then as you firm your feet, start to find a little bit of a back bend. Lengthen through your front body. So it's not about how far back you go, it's about how long you can make yourself. I can feel a little thigh squeezing the thighs, and I'm trying to not squeeze my glutes too much. They're gonna engage, but inhale. Exhale. Inhale, stand tall and take a side bend to your right. Look up underneath the left arm. Inhale here. Exhale. And up through center and go the other way. And look up underneath the right arm. Inhale. Exhale. And then take your hands behind you, interlace your fingers low behind you. Press down and then wrap that around to the left side of your body and let your head fall to the left. Actively press the right shoulder blade down and then roll through center and go the other way. So this will be a little more intense. Well maybe not, actually. They're about the same. Just press those knuckles down and do the other side. So wrap around to your right side, wrap that right elbow back. Head falls to the right first. Down and go the other way. I don't know if you're like me. My neck and shoulders when I wake up are the tight parts. Maybe your experience is different. Feel free to leave that in a comment if there's a particular ache and pain you seem to wake up with. Minus neck and shoulders. So coming back up to center, float the arms overhead. And this time fold forward. We're just stepping back to all fours. So step back. Lower both knees onto the mat. I'm gonna bring my right hand to my heart and then peel my chest up towards the ceiling. Easy twist to the right. Inhale and exhale. Throw the needle. Bring the right hand through, bring the right ear down to the mat. Keep your hips up nice and high. And then energize down in the left hand. Press down with the left hand. Take a breath. And exhale. I'm trying to keep my hips level. Come back up. Trying to keep my hips level as I do that. And then set the right hand on the floor. We'll do the other side. Left hand to the heart. Look up over your left shoulder. I'm using this left hand, like pulling my chest open a bit as I energize down in my knees. So otherwise my hips would be flopping all over the place. And then thread the needle. Left hand goes down, left ear to the mat. Keep your hips up high and then press down firmly in the right hand. Deepen the twist. Inhale. It's also a shoulder stretch. Exhale. And come back up, keeping your hips high. Walk your both hands straight forward. Puppy. Inhale, lengthen. Exhale. The heart is coming towards the floor as much as you can. And then send your hips back for a child's pose. Take your knees nice and wide. Bring your hands to prayer and then hook. My baseball cap out of the way. Hook your thumbs behind your neck. And I'm thinking about pulling my hips back. And I feel this all through my upper back. Space between the shoulder blades. Inhale. Exhale. And then make your way up to sit. Release the hips onto the mat. Swing your legs around in front of you. Shake. Feel the fleshy part of your glutes. peel the fleshy part of your glutes away from your cyst bones so you can feel that nice grounding and then step your right foot in. Sit up tall. I'm gonna wrap my left elbow around my right thigh. Easy seated spinal twist. There's space between my right foot and my left thigh. Inhale. Exhale. Then take a little counter-twist over to the left. I'm gonna keep that right foot planted. It's about in line with my hip. And then flip my arms and fold forward, reaching towards the left foot. If you don't quite touch it, that's okay. I'm keeping the right foot firm and feeling the length of my spine as I inhale and exhale. Fold a little deeper. Maybe walk your hands out wide and then press the right tricep into the right shin. Look forward. And your your sitspone will come up little bit. That's okay. Inhale. Exhale. That's a very easy version of Marichasana. A is the name of that pose. Stepping your left foot on the floor. Just wrap your right elbow around and then bring your left hand behind. Sitting up tall as you inhale. Look back over your left shoulder as you exhale. Should feel nice. Inhale. Exhale. A little counter twist to the right. And then keeping that left foot fairly firm, flip the arms get nice and long and fall forward towards your str straight right leg. And this is not the same as like Janya Shrashasana. This is easier. this is or not easier, less intense. And then maybe you take your arms wide and you push that left tricep into the left shin to help guide your heart further forward. Inhale. Exhale. And come up to sit. Badakanasana. Butterfly your feet, peel them open, lift your heart. Inhale and exhale. Just an easy forward fold. I'm not trying to go very far here at all. But I'm using my elbows gently into my thighs to help pull the harp forward as I inhale. And then exhale, you can round a little bit here. Sit up, lean back, cross your shins, rock forward again, coming to all fours. Let's go right to down dog. Tuck your toes, lift your hips up and back. Energize through the finger pads and the knuckles. Wrap those elbows under, lengthen your waist. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale, roll forward to plank, release your right knee down onto the floor. Pick up your left foot, step it over the right, look over your right shoulder. Inhale, exhale. Pick up the left foot, step it straight back, down dogs put the right leg. Steph the right foot between your hands. Come up to a high lunge. Pressing back in the ball of the left foot. Little engagement in that left thigh, but I'm thinking mostly about a little bend in the knee, energy in the ball of the left foot and in the heel of the right. Inhale here. Exhale, bring your hands down. Step that right foot back. Let's take our first vinyasa, lowering knees, chest and chin. Go overpose. On our facing God. Take a breath. Inhale, roll forward to plank, lower the left knee down. Step the right foot over the left leg, look over your left shoulder, opening the right side body. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale, picks up the right foot, step it straight back. Dundog, split the left leg. Nice stretch. Inhale. Exhale, step to the left foot, all the way between the hands. Just swing it up a little bit this morning and then ground down about three breaths here. Feel like you're pushing the floor back with the ball of the right foot, but let that right knee have a little bend in it and then sink your hips, go forward, look up. Inhale. Exhale, hands come down to the mat. Step back. Take your vinyasa, knees just gent, jataranga, if you'd like. Cobra or up dog. And then you're downward facing the. Just breathe. And walk your feet forward to your hands. Long spine inhale. Fold on your exhale. Root to rise. Hands meet overhead. very brief little flow because you know on Fridays we flow inhale float the arms exhale bow inhale lengthen exhale step back to flank inhale pause exhale knees chest or chataranga inhale cobra or up dog exhale downward facing dog down dog split the right leg inhale exhale step the between the hands Inhale, rise up. Let's take a twist. Hook the left elbow outside the right thigh. Look up over your right shoulder. Inhaling. Exhaling. Inhale, release the twist. Exhale, bring your hands down to the mat. Down dog, split the right leg, send it up and back. Step the right foot outside the right hand. Step the left foot outside the left hand. Malasana. Press down through your feet. Reach your arms forward. Come to your boat. Hips back, feet float. You need to cushion with your hands. You can't. Lift your heart. Inhale. Exhale. Cross your shins. Plant your hands. Step back to playing. Inhale here. Exhale. Moves you through your vinyasa. Following your own breath. Down dogs split the left leg. Inhale. Exhale. Step the foot between the hands. Inhale, rise up. High lunge. Exhale, take a twist to your left. One round of breath, inhaling. Exhaling. Inhale, releases the twist. Exhale, bring your hands down to frame that left foot. Then down dogs flip the left leg. Inhale. Exhale, set the left foot outside the left hand. Right foot outside the right hand. Make sure those heels are grounded. Reach forward. Inhale. Exhale. Tuck your tailbone. Release the hips back. Float your boat. One round of breath here. Inhaling. Exhale, cross your shins. Rock forward. Step back to flight. And then let's find your child's pose. Release your hips down. Your knees down. Send your hips back. Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. You can stay here in child's pose. You can have a seat. Or you can take a brief shavasana. Whoops. Well, this card fell out, so we're gonna use it. Hand to big topos, Dharma, live your purpose and no contentment. These little chats where I reflect on spiritual things or where I reflect on the practice are called Dharma talks because they're about My Dharma, my purpose. My life's purpose, I believe, is to teach yoga and to sing shotuns. I keep the shotuns in another pocket. But I love both of these things so much and feel called to both of them so deeply that it feels inevitable that we're here. What feels inevitable for you? Is there something that you're doing in your life that feels forced? It feels inauthentic? And by the same token, is there something that you're doing in your life that feels so right, so natural? Said that about being a mother, that that was her life's work, that was her life's purpose, that was her calling. And she was real good at it. No. yours and if you don't know take a breath and instead of doing try listening certainly not to me certainly not to the world to that deepest part of yourself and we quiet our minds and we just take the next step that feels right Dharma, our purpose is unavoidable. And that of course leads to contentment. light that is in me bows to and honors the light that is in you. Namaste. Thank you, as always, for your time and for your practice. Having some tech issues lately, so hopefully I'll able to clear those up. But regardless, I'm delighted that you're here. And be sure to keep checking in and of course find hello, friends, with James Donegan, my new podcast, which is available everywhere. Go to my website, dailyflow.yoga. It's hard to miss. One episode out. A lot more coming. And even if you never listen once, you're here now. And that means more than you know. Thank you. Namaste. James @ Daily Flow: a follow or review goes a long way. And of course, you're always welcome to practice live with me on YouTube, 8 a.m. weekdays.