Hello, loves!

I wanted to share a nice intermediate Yin Yoga practice that focuses on heart opening asana, stretching through our chest and front line of the body, with a gentle element of backbending added into the sequence.

There are no props required, you only need to bring yourself and your mat!

Feel free to practice on your own or with me on YouTube.

Sphinx (3 minutes):

• lie down on your stomach and brace yourself on your forearms with the elbows stacked under the shoulders
• gently press down through the tops of your feet and also keep the intention of sending the pubic bone down to protect the low back
• shine the chest forward and keep your shoulders low
• the head is in a neutral position
• hold for three minutes
• to come out, gently lower yourself onto your belly in preparation for our next pose

Lying Chest Opener (2 x 1 minute):

• begin by lying on your stomach
• bring your left arm out into a cactus shape beside you
• use the fingertips on your right hand to press up and open through the chest
• rotate through the body, bend the right knee, and bring the right foot to the floor behind you
• hold for one minute
• slowly reverse out of the pose and repeat on the other side

Seal (2 minutes):

• begin on your stomach and place your arms slightly out and in front of you (how far out you go will determine the intensity of the stretch; the closer you have your hands, the more intense the backbend)
• press through your palms to lift yourself up
• keep the intention of pressing through the tops of the feet
• hold for two minutes
• to come out of the pose, gently lower yourself back down onto your stomach, place the hands under the shoulders, then press into the mat to lift yourself up into tabletop

Melting Heart (2 minutes):

• begin on hands and knees in a tabletop position (the knees are under the hips, the wrists are under the shoulders)
• walk your hands out, lowering yourself until your forehead touches the mat
• keep your hips over your knees and stretch through the armpits to really lengthen the spine
• if you want to, you can do the variation where you bring your chest and chin to the mat
• hold for two minutes
• to reverse out of the pose, walk your hands back in, gently lifting yourself back into tabletop

Child’s Pose (4 minutes):

• begin in a tabletop position and bring your big toes to touch as you send your hips back toward your heels
• keep your thighs together and walk your hands out to fold over the highs, bringing the forehead to the mat
• place the arms beside you with the palms facing up
• hold for four minutes
• to come out of the pose place palms beneath the shoulders and press against the mat to gently roll yourself back up

Since this is a midday practice, I’m not including Savasana – but you can always take it if that feels good to you!

If you want to move through this sequence with me, I kindly invite you to join me on YouTube!

---

Did you enjoy the content & want to spread some love?

You can help support the Joy & Serenity blog by buying me a coffee ♥