I'm an MFA, Bliss Catalyst, and Creator of A Blythe Coach: helping multi passionate creatives dance through their difficulties and take leaps of faith. Writing and sharing about mindful movement, dance education, coaching and creativity is my jam. Subscribe and join delighted readers every week!
Yoga Re-TREAT Day 2: Diving into Forward Folding, Chair to Child
Welcome back for Day 2 of the Yogalicious ReTREAT!
Today we're diving in with forward-folding shapes, including Chair, Ragdoll, Seated Forward Fold, and Savasana. This sequence of poses will help us to get centered, inward-going and relaxed.
Make the practice yours by trying my suggested variations as well as other favorites, get integrated and warmed up by doing the whole sequence, or go full-relaxation and skip directly to a restorative Child's Pose adaptation.
_Time Stamps_
02:26 Opening warm-up, find a comfortable seat or stance, focus on breath
06:30 Paschimottanasana/Seated Forward Fold Option
07:45 Utkatasana/Chair Pose introduction, seated/chair option, props
10:25 Chair Pose practice with music, “Amber” by VYEN
12:59 Uttanasana/Standing Forward Fold or Pasarita Padottanasana or Dandayamana Bibhakta Paschimottanasana/Wide-Leg Forward Fold/Separated Leg Stretch, standing, seated in a chair or on the floor
15:49 Forward Fold with music, “Checkmate” by Nathan Moore
18:13 Balansana/Child’s Pose
21:02 Child’s Pose with music, “Koto San” by Ofshane
23:41 Take your time to come out of Child’s Pose, neutralize your spine, open the heart, and move into the next activity in your own reTREAT
Ways to keep on savoring your retreat experience:
- Get into that rooted feeling with a Grounding Meditation
- Looking for a chair-based yoga session? Try the Spring Fresh Seated Yoga Practice
- Refine your taste for chair or practice dynamic squats with Scrumptious Squats
- Experience a variety of yoga practices on my Yogalicious Playlist on YouTube
- Get dancey with a Dance Warmup or Ballet Barre Playlist
- Reflect & Journal: record your intention and experiences (Journaling & Reflective Practice article), starting with prompts such as, What are your favorite yoga poses, shapes, or exercises? Which do you dread? In both cases, why? What movements make you feel good/better? What joyful movement does your summer have in store? How do you relax and restore? What next step are you inspired to take?
- Sit or go for a walk outside if the weather is fine
- Get out your favorite candles, incense, oils and aromatherapy, refreshing beverage, drawing supplies, and favorite book, or meditation supplies and put them to good use
- Enjoy some silence and Meditate (Meditation Practice article)
- Play with Pranayama breathing techniques
- If you’re not finding the “yum” in your practice or are unsure how to adapt the poses to feel delicious to you, or if you just want more opportunities to practice, you can go ahead and schedule a complimentary consultation or hit me up on social media for personalized support
- Read any of my relevant articles on Healthy Habit-Building, creating a Creative Morning Ritual, Morning Boundaries, Rest & Recovery, Getting Grounded, Yoga for Energy, Yoga for Sweet Sleep, and more
- Enjoy some Summer/Winter Solstice celebrations today, such as basking in the sun, smelling some flowers, blowing bubbles, and enjoying abundance
Send me a message with any questions, and I’m delighted to be practicing with you this week! Please also spread the word to others you know who would enjoy such a getaway :)
Love, Blythe
Blythe Stephens, MFA, Bliss Catalyst
she/her or they/them
Creator of A Blythe Coach: dance through your difficulties and take leaps of faith into a joyful, fulfilling life
P.S.- Did you receive this email as a forward from a friend? Thanks for checking it out, and you can also join the ReTREAT for free here.
A Blythe Coach
I'm an MFA, Bliss Catalyst, and Creator of A Blythe Coach: helping multi passionate creatives dance through their difficulties and take leaps of faith. Writing and sharing about mindful movement, dance education, coaching and creativity is my jam. Subscribe and join delighted readers every week!
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