30 Days of Relaxation - Day 29

We are coming up on the home stretch of our challenge. I thought I would post a couple of my favorite short home sequences for these last two days.

Also, FYI, tomorrow is International Restorative Yoga Day. I will be teaching Restorative Yoga at Yoga North in Duluth, MN, Saturday morning, 8:00-9:15 am. Please join me for a live class.

For today...

Supported Reclining Bound Angle

 Details on how to do this pose here.

Supported Child's Pose

 Details on how to do this pose here.

Supported Reclining Side-Seated Twist.

Make sure to take the twist in both directions.

 Details on how to do this pose here.

Feel free to keep on going and take more poses or finish up here.

30 Days of Relaxation - Day 15

To round out our week I've searched the web for variations of Reclining Bound Angle. Here's a few more version you might enjoy:

Lots of props plus eye pillow.

No props.

Bound Angle at the Wall.

Super luxurious with hands weighted.

Set up using books instead of yoga blocks. Good creativity.

Using rolled towels for leg support.

While pregnant.

With a group.

With breath awareness.

Upside-down with a partner - lol.

Have fun!

30 Days of Relaxation - Day 14

I think today's version of Bound Angle Pose is my favorite. It requires minimal propping but feels very luxurious. All you need are two medium-thick or thick blankets (three if you want one more to cover up with). I call it:

Blanket-foot Bound Angle

Setting up for the pose:
Roll one of your blankets into a small bolster and place it behind you lengthwise. It should be long enough to support your whole torso and your head when you lay back on it. The blanket roll should be right up against your sacrum and when you lay on it your head should not be hanging off the end.

Fold your second blanket into a hotdog fold (fold in half lengthwise) and lay it down at the end of your mat by your feet (perpendicular to your mat).

Coming into the pose:
Sit in front of your bolster-rolled blanket with bent knees and your feet on your hotdog folded blanket. Fold the "hotdog folded" blanket over your feet making a "foot sandwich." (Now your blanket is folded twice, lengthwise, with your feet inside).

Pull the ends of your foot blanket toward you, tucking the feet in snugly.

Lay down on your bolster-rolled blanket and get comfortable. Your behind should be on the floor but the rest of your back and your head should be on the blanket roll. Let your knees fall open to the sides, tucking the ends of your "foot sandwich" blanket under your knees and/or hips to support the bound angle opening.

While in the pose:
You can experiment with what feels the best to you. If your head is tipped way back or you feel unsupported in the neck, place a folded blanket under the head and neck - not so thick that your head tips forward. Your head should be level with the body or slightly tipped back.

If your inner thighs feel too stretched, wad up your support blanket a little more and give your knees more height.

Send your arms out to the sides, palms up to encourage the heart center to open. If you feel too much pulling across the chest or through the arms, put a folded towel or blanket under each lower arm, supporting all the way to the fingertips.

If any other place in your body feels uncomfortable or unsupported, experiment with more props until you feel at ease.

Keep breathing, keep observing the pose in your body, and allow the body to open at its own rate. Commit to the stillness but do allow yourself to adjust your props and your body as you settle deeper in.

Coming out of the pose:
To come out, you can either help the knees come back together or you can send your legs straight out to stretch. Either way, roll to one side to rest before coming back to seated. A nice follow-up pose is a Supported Side Reclining Twist.

Enjoy!

30 Days of Relaxation - Day 13

So our last two days we were folding forward. Now let's start to lay back. Today's Bound Angle Pose requires lots of props so get out all of your pillows, a yoga belt if you have one, and anything else you think you might need to get comfortable.

Enjoy Supported Reclining Bound Angle

(Just about) Everyone's Favorite Pose

Setting up for the pose:
Set up a big pillow pile and practice laying on it a few times to get the angles just right. You should have support under your lumbar spine, blocks/pillows ready to support your knees, a yoga belt, and enough of a pillow that your head does not tilt backward but not so much that you are cranking your head forward either. Below is a basic set-up for Supported Reclining Bound Angle, used as a starting point when I teach Restorative Yoga at Yoga North):




To come into the pose:
Sit on the floor in Bound Angle pose (souls together and drawn in towards the body, knees out to the sides). Fix a belt/strap loosely around your waist, stretch it to the inside of the thighs and then wrap it around the back side of the feet/ankles (as shown). Lay back on your bolster/pillow pile. Allow your knees to open out to the sides, resting them on bolsters, blocks or blankets for comfort. Draw your feet in closer to the body by tightening the belt as much as is comfortable. Let the arms rest out at your sides, palms facing up. There should be no strain on the shoulders or neck from the arms pulling down towards the floor. Support the arms with blocks, blankets or pillows as needed. Close the eyes and try to keep your attention on watching the breath. Stay as long as you like.

Here's an example from Yoga Journal of a super luxurious Reclining Bound Angle. 

To come out of the pose:
Loosen the belt, remove any props you have stacked on the body, bring the knees together, possibly roll to one side and/or sit up slowly.

Supported Reclining Bound Angle

Blanket-foot Bound Angle

I've detailed other versions of Bound Angle and Reclining Bound Angle before (here and here). But this version is one of my favorites. It's easy to do at home or at yoga class. All you need are two medium-thick or thick blankets (three if you want one more to cover up with).

Setting up for the pose:
Roll one of your blankets into a small bolster and place it behind you lengthwise. It should be long enough to support your whole torso and your head. The blanket roll should be right up against your sacrum and when you lay on it your head should not be hanging off the end.

Fold your second blanket into a hotdog fold (fold in half lengthwise) and lay it down at the end of your mat by your feet (perpendicular to your mat).

Coming into the pose:
Sit in front of your bolster-rolled blanket with bent knees and your feet on your hotdog folded blanket. Fold the "hotdog folded" blanket over your feet making a "foot sandwich." (Now your blanket is folded twice, lengthwise, with your feet inside).

Pull the ends of your foot blanket toward you, tucking the feet in snugly.

Lay down on your bolster-rolled blanket and get comfortable. Your behind should be on the floor but the rest of your back and your head should be on the blanket roll. Let your knees fall open to the sides, tucking the ends of your "foot sandwich" blanket under your knees and/or hips to support the bound angle opening.

While in the pose:
You can experiment with what feels the best to you. If your head is tipped way back or you feel unsupported in the neck, place a folded blanket under the head and neck - not so thick that your head tips forward. Your head should be level with the body or slightly tipped back.

If your inner thighs feel too stretched, wad up your support blanket a little more and give your knees more height.

Send your arms out to the sides, palms up to encourage the heart center to open. If you feel too much pulling across the chest or through the arms, put a folded towel or blanket under each lower arm, supporting all the way to the fingertips.

If any other place in your body feels uncomfortable or unsupported, experiment with more props until you feel at ease.

Keep breathing, keep observing the pose in your body, and allow the body to open at its own rate. Commit to the stillness but do allow yourself to adjust your props and your body as you settle deeper in.

Coming out of the pose:
To come out, you can either help the knees come back together or you can send your legs straight out to stretch. Either way, roll to one side to rest before coming back to seated. A nice follow-up pose is a Supported Side Reclining Twist.

Enjoy!

Leading a Class - Part 4

Setting up for Reclining Bound Angle

The more props the better

Like I said in some of my previous Leading a Class segments, I set up my open/public classes for 20 people: 5 stations of 4 set-ups each.

To set up for Supta Baddha Konasana the more props you have the better. This is one of the more prop-heavy poses in restorative yoga. It is also one of the most luxurious. It seems that in my open classes it is also just about everyone's favorite so I include it every time.

My set up has varied as different props became available at the studio. At first I was using 2 Zafu's end to end, then placing folded blankets on top of that, then adding a pillow for extra head and neck support.

Now we have a few long bolsters plus some foam physical therapy rollers. Now I use the foam rollers as my base, set up the bolsters across the rollers (up against a wall), then add a folded blanket on top of that. I use a block for each knee and set up a belt at the front of the station (as seen above in the image).

When I practice at home I use anything available: bed pillows, couch cushions, random blankets, etc. As long as you are completely supported it doesn't really matter if you use "sanctioned" yoga props. I'd use anything you have at hand. Stay as long as you want and enjoy!

Supported Reclining Bound Angle ~ Supta Baddha Konasana

Enjoy Supported Reclining Bound Angle

Everyone's Favorite Pose

To come into the pose:
Sit on the floor in Bound Angle pose (souls together and drawn in towards the body, knees out to the sides). Fix a belt/strap loosely around your waist, stretch it to the inside of the thighs and then wrap it around the back side of the feet/ankles. Lay back on the floor or on a bolster/pillow pile. Allow your knees to open out to the sides, resting them on bolsters, blocks or blankets for comfort. Draw your feet in closer to the body by tightening the belt as much as is comfortable. Let the arms rest out at your sides, palms facing up. There should be no strain on the shoulders or neck from the arms pulling down towards the floor. Support the arms with blocks, blankets or pillows as needed. Close the eyes and try to keep your attention on watching the breath. Stay as long as you like.

To come out:
Loosen the belt, bring the knees together, roll to one side and sit up slowly.