Late summer - autumn YIN practice

​I apologize first, this is NOT A VIDEO as I am facing ridiculously many obstacles in trying to finish editing this last clip I shot on an incredibly beautiful late September day. 
As this was meant to be a seasonal yoga offering, I decided to break it down into stills  -  and hopefully one day (soon) I'll manage to finish the edit of the filmed version. 
​Please give it a try, practicing in a different way and let me know what you think. 

A few days after Autumn equinox I took a drive to a gorgeous lake about an hour from Berlin (Liepnitzee). It was one of those magical days, when the summer warmth was still palpable, yet so was the crisp of autumn. The summer crowds were gone, yet the water was still swimmable, the sun bake-able.  The exact conditions were present that tickle every fibre in me - I feel like time stops and I breathe one with the eternal moment! I did just that - spent the day in silence exploring a bit the forrest surrounding the lake, swimming, reading, drinking tea, dozing. 
I returned the next day to film this clip for you - to share the moment in a yin way. I hope to get my technical s**** together soon and have the video up as well, but until then, maybe the picture-sequence and explanations below can help you with this transitional season time. 

And of course this sequence can be used during other season as well. Both the Metal and Earth element help to facilitate grounding, generating present moment awareness along with slowing down and letting go of what no longer serves. 

Remember your Yin practice principles: 
Come to your appropriate edge (no forcing, no pushing)
Soften the outer muscles of the body
Resolve to be still 
Hold for longer 

You will need a blanket and possibly also blocks for this practice. 

SEATED MEDITATION (2-5 mins)

RESTORATIVE BACKBEND WITH A BLANKET (2-5 min)

DRAGON (2 min) 

​It is always a good idea to settle and take a few moments in a simple comfortable seat. 
Our practice will focus on two organ pairs: 
* lungs & large intestine as the organs in the element of metal and corresponding to the season of autumn
* stomach & spleen in the element of earth corresponding to the time of late summer. 

Take your blanket (not a too fluffy one) and roll it up tightly. You place the blanket right under the shoulder blades and as you lie down, the tips of your shoulders need to be on the mat. Your arms are above your roll, maybe in a cactus shape. Your legs can be straight or if the lower back feels tight, keep the soles of the feet on the mat. 
Widening the breath, opening the lungs, in TCM Lung is described as the receiver of the pure Chi from the Heavens. 
To come out, hug your knees to chest and roll over to one side and come up. 

LOW DRAGON (2min)

You start by stepping right leg forward, settling the back knee down (possibly on a blanket so it won't hurt). You can use blocks under hands like I do on the picture to gain some extra height if it feels good. Your right heel can also be positioned closer to your right sitting-bone, letting the knee come over the ankle if your knee feels happy about it. Let the left hip get heavy and earthy, feel the gravity. Take care of your neck, unclench your jaw. Stay for 2 minutes, then transition to low dragon by walking the right leg to the right, hands come inside, stay with elbows straight, or lower them on a block or on the ground. No forcing! Stay for 2 minutes. 
Slowly release to either child pose or take a brief Downward Facing Dog.
​Then repeat the same two poses on the other side. 

Stomach and Spleen meridians run through the front of the thighs and then into the stomach. Late summer is associated with the power of "decrease" at the same time with the hight of abundance. It is time to look at your personal harvest, to celebrate your creation while also letting go of the fruits of your labor. It is a time to slow down, to gather inward. In our bodies, the earth is represented by the stomach and spleen, the organs that receive food and enable us to be nourished by its essence.  Pay attention also to your mental and emotional intake and make sure it is nourishing rather than harmful. 

SHOULDER STRETCH options 1 - 2 - 3     (1-2 min)  

Start by lying on your belly and stretch the right hand out to the side at shoulder height. Then CAREFULLY start to roll over to your right side, knees can bend so it feels more stable. Pause, feel - NO big sensations!!! Mild, moderate, pressure remember! ONLY if there is not much happening, try the option 2 and place the sole of left foot on the ground (knee pointing up to sky). Pause, feel! ONLY if there is still not too much of a pull around right shoulder, step the right foot on the ground as well (option 3). Top hand (left hand) can lie in front or wrap around.  
Stay for 1 - 2 minutes (be conservative!), as you roll out stay on your belly for at least 30 seconds before taking on the other side. 
Always rest before moving onto the next thing. Let the tissues rest and restore! 

Option 2 

Option 3

In Chinese medicine, autumn is the season of the element Metal. The two organs in the Metal element are Large Intestine - eliminating what is unnecessary or toxic from our bodies -  and Lungs taking in the fresh, the new, the pure. The "work" of autumn is cleaning out old negativity. As nature becomes more and more bare, there's an opportunity for us as well to strip off what is false, toxic and stale. The energy of this season, more than any other supports our letting go, revealing what is true and of most value. 

SPHINX (3-4 min) - option to transition to SEAL (1 min) 

SPHINX (optional)

SEAL (1 min)

For Sphinx pose place your elbows slightly forward from the shoulders. Relax your legs and buttocks. Check what feels most comfortable for the neck - head upright, head dropping down or a block as a support under forehead. Stay in the first Sphinx option for 2 minutes, then your option is to bend the knees - but do keep checking in with your lower back. After 4 minutes, you have an option to transition to Seal pose by placing palms down and straightening elbows. Again - mild to moderate compression in lower back is OK, any sharp burning sensations are NOT. 
Sphinx/Seal pose mainly affects Urinary Bladder and Kidney meridian lines (running through lower back and sacrum), but mildly still stimulates Stomach and Spleen line along top of legs. According to TCM kidneys house our vital essence (jing), which is the inherited Qi from our parents. Along with Spleen and Lungs, Kidneys are part of the process of Qi formation. 

SADDLE POSE (2-5 min) 

This can be hard for many people, as there are many factors (joints) involved - you knees, your ankles, your lower back. Many people do this pose by sitting on their heels and then leaning back. For me that is impossible, I sit between my heels, plus often need a support under my back. Here I've used two blocks and covered them with a blanket. Remember - NO pain in the knees. You'll feel it in the front of the thighs  (either closer to the hip - you hip-flexors or center of the thigh your quadriceps), gentle compression in the lower back is OK, but no pain. Some ankles need a little roll of towel or blanket under the arches to be happy. 
For this one - if in doubt, leave it out or talk to a teacher face-to-face about how to make this pose accessible to your specific needs. 

Enter and exit carefully in stages. 

Release into child pose

Saddle pose affects the  Spleen & Stomach meridian pair, that run along your quadriceps muscles and along the abdomen. Some people feel this pose more in the lower back, some more in the thighs - both is OK as long as there is no sharp pain. 

TWIST (3 min each side) 

A simple twist from Wide-knee child pose: thread the right hand under until the right shoulder and right side of your head is on the mat. You can keep the left hand in front of your face, you can walk it forward towards the top of the mat or wrap it around the back (see the picture on the left below). When releasing stay in the middle (picture below on the right) for a few breaths and then change sides. After the second side, also pause in the middle for some breaths. 

In the energetic system of Chinese medicine, each of the internal organs is paired - the balance of yin and yang. The large intestine is yang. The lung is yin. Both organs are involved in absorption and dissemination of fluid and regulation of the body's circulatory system. Both meridian lines run through the large intestine, diaphragm and upper body. 

CATERPILLAR (5 mins) 

Bring your legs towards the top of the mat, setting yourself up for a forward fold. Elevate your hips on top of a folded blanket if needed (to make sure your hips tilt forward), place a roll of some sort (blanket, bolster) under your knees if you struggle here with folding forward. Place block(s) under forehead if letting the head hang pulls too hard on the neck. 
Your stomach and lungs are compressed at the front, stimulating digestion and directing air to the back of the lungs, stimulating kidneys and balancing the overall flow of chi. 

SNAIL (2 - 5 min) 

I very rarely offer Snail (Halasana/Plough pose) like this over internet - so please be mindful of the signals coming from your body when attempting this. Do NOT do this if you have any neck issues, high blood pressure, when on your moon cycle - do the one offered in the next column (bridge).  
I also use a neatly (!!) folded blanket under my shoulders (placed so, that when I bring my legs over, the tips of my shoulders are still on the blanket). Keep the knees bent in this yin version, support the back with hands (release hands down only when feet touch the ground). 
This offers a deep release for the spine, all internal organs are massaged and compressed, front of the lungs compressed, Urinary bladder lines stimulated. 

alternative to snail: BRIDGE on a block

If you are not going upside down today, bring a block (or any solid support) under your pelvis. Start with the feet on the ground, letting your pelvis get heavy and drop onto the support. There is an option to straighten the legs out - keep watching how your lower back feels about it though. 
The whole frontline of the body opens, a gentle elevation of the heart above head (a definition of inversion). A very nourishing posture, gentle opening for the front of the thighs when legs are straight, you might also feel slight compression in the lower back, opens the lungs and heart. 
To release step your feet on the mat, remove the block and lie on your back for several breaths. 

Energetically these two offering are quite different, one compressing, the other opening the front body. In the late/summer transitioning theme I wanted to offer an inversion - something that gently places our heart over our head. In their own way both of these postures offer a version of it. Tune in and see which one speaks to you today and execute with care. 

TWIST (3 min each side) 

Finish with a simple one knee twist. Start by hugging your right knee to your chest - draw it in as close as you can, soften shoulders and stay like this for 3-5 breaths, then release the right knee to your left and stretch the right hand out to the right. When practicing in a yin way, I often place a block under my right knee as it is hovering above ground. Find a comfortable way to place your head. Become still! Before doing the other side, pause at the center for a few breath. 
The revolving poses (twists) mobilize the coils of the large intestine and activate the apanic (downward-moving, expulsive) force in the body. 

SHAVASANA (5 - 15 min)

Do not skip this important part! Grab your favorite blanket, place a roll under your knees if the lower back feels tight and sensitive, cover your eyes to shield off the light. Open your legs a bit wider than hips, place your hands on either side of the body with palms facing upward. Ride the wave of breath in and out harmonizing your breath and awareness, come to feel the body sinking as the muscles get heavy and the bones yield into gravity. 

To restore the element of Metal in the season of autumn - is to learn from the season and act in harmony with its spirit. The nature moves into a period of rest, so we too are offered a chance to pause and gather inward. Nourishing the body and mind, taking time to breathe more slowly, walk more slowly, talk more slowly. It is also a good time for mental inventory - to look at our attitudes of prejudice, envy, hatred, jealousy and resentment - to notice the patterns, how they make us feel, what is being created out of such mental states. 
The emotion of metal element is grief. We all experience loss, grief helps to cleanse us, it too is part of the process of letting go. 

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