Video: 25 Minute Restorative Yoga & Somatics for a Relaxed Spine

Join me for a 25-minute restorative yoga & somatics session for neck and spine relief. Enjoy gentle movements to help with spinal alignment and relaxation.

Restorative Yoga for Deep Relaxation:
Relieve Your Neck and Spine

In this video, I'll guide you through a restorative yoga session using various props like cushions, blankets, and bolsters to achieve deep relaxation. Kate Lynch demonstrates how to position your body with support under your head, neck, chest, and thighs. Detailed instructions are given for aligning the head and spine, using props for leg support, with gentle side stretches and neck rolls. The session includes breathing exercises and gentle movements to help release tension and find a sense of peace and alignment in your practice.

00:00 Setting Up Your Restorative Pose
00:56 Supporting Your Legs and Thighs
01:37 Aligning Your Head and Neck
02:26 Relaxing and Broadening Your Shoulders
03:04 OM Chanting and Vibrations
04:20 Adjusting for Comfort and Support
05:53 Neck and Shoulder Stretches
09:28 Switching Sides and Hip Circles
13:37 Side Bends and Arm Stretches
17:14 Final Twists and Leg Stretches
22:04 Happy Baby Pose and Conclusion
23:51 Ending with OM Shanti for Peace

Transcript:

Hi, we're setting up in a restorative pose with props. If you have some cushions, blanket or two, take a blanket and you can fold or roll, so you have like a long sausage shape. Or tube shape like that, then what we want is I have a bolster, but you don't have to use a bolster.

You could use cushions. We want to get in a position where our head and upper body are a little higher than our hips. So I'm going to just show you how you can use different props to get that same kind of angle.

And if you do have two blankets, you can use two blankets. One you'll reserve for your legs. So I want to show you this. You'll have your feet together, knees apart. Pick up your knees. And then take the blanket so it's on top of your ankles and then pull it up under your thighs and tuck it in under your thighs. Then when you let your knees drop apart, it should feel very supported. So you tuck it in until it feels supported. You can also use pillows under your thighs if you'd prefer.

And then when I've got this angle. of cushions. If you do have a bolster, you can put something under the bolster so it's on a little bit of an angle. But I'm not putting something under my lower back. It's really under middle of my rib cage, and then under my neck. And then if you do have that second blanket, you can put it under your neck so you have this tube of support under your neck, or you can scrunch up a pillow.

So that the base of your skull is supported, and your neck, there's a little bit of a curve. You should feel like there's some openness across your chest. Maybe your shoulders are getting that opportunity to broaden. And there's no discomfort in lower back. Thighs are supported but open. Chest is supported but open, head and neck are supported, and especially the base of your skull, there's that little bit of a curve supporting the gentle curve of that part of your spine, and make any adjustments here, so that you feel comfortable. You can let your jaw go. You can let your arms flop off to the side. Or, if you prefer, they can rest on your thighs. If you don't have a lot of space, just find a place where your arms can be even, your shoulders can open, great.

And if you'd like, turn your head side to side a little bit. Feel free to sigh,

I am going to OM. You can join me if you'd like. OM.

I'm going to do two more today. OM.

If you are changing along, find the tone that feels like it can vibrate all your cells down through your throat. OM.

You're welcome to keep making some sounds if that feels good or to settle into stillness and silence. If there's restlessness of your mind, acknowledge that as being a little different from discomfort in your body,

Make sure those thighs are supported enough that you can allow the dropping open, allow the release.

If this knees apart position is at any point starting to get to be a lot, take out the blanket, walk your feet apart and let your knees drop in towards each other.

With your head supported, press it down into your cushion or bolster or block whatever's there, and then release, so you're pressing it straight down towards the floor. And then release.

I'm just using my hand to show you, there's something under your head, and you're pressing it straight down to strengthen, and then let go.

Pressing it straight back, then letting go.

And then turn your head a little to one side. Reach your opposite hand across and find your ear. Unroll, so your opposite hand comes across the midline if you can. And find your ear and unroll it.

Now feel free to yawn.

Okay, then use that same hand underneath your ear behind your jaw. And you can use your finger pads. To touch there, maybe follow your jawline a little bit, or follow down, uh, your muscle that comes from your ear to the middle of your collarbones. And drag your fingers along there a little bit. And then underneath your collarbone, you can rub.

Then you can slide your hand up. Reach across and find your shrugger muscle. You're still in this reclined position, so any adjustments you need to make, allow that. Squeeze. You can shrug that shoulder up and down a little bit and feel the shrugger muscles. Keep your head turned away, if you can, from that shoulder as you're squeezing. And then finally, use that same hand to travel up to the base of your skull and give that a rub.

Then please pause when you're done with that, bring your head back to center, bring your arm down and pause and notice the two sides.

If it feels like a lot to have your knees apart, go ahead and switch it up to constructive rest. Let's reach across to the opposite ear.

Turn your head. So you're turning away from your ear and unrolling your ear. Feel free to yawn. Definitely separate your back teeth. Allow some spaciousness there.

Any adjustments you need to make, absolutely fine. You can pull on your earlobe a little and then bring your fingertips to just under your ear behind your jaw. And scrape your fingers along your jaw line.

Then from your ear down, the kind of diagonally to the place between your collarbones. And you can scrape your finger pads a few times. Just dragging your fingers along the skin, the fascia. Apparently there's a article in the New York Times about fascia. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but if you have, let me know.

And then from there, underneath the collarbone, rubbing. See if you can get on your actual skin underneath your shirt. From there, go and find your shrugger muscle. Squeeze it. You're still looking away from that hand if you can, and you can shrug up and down towards your ear and away from your ear a little bit, feeling those muscles that are involved, squeezing, relax your shoulder now, squeeze the top of your shoulder, whatever those muscles are that you noticed, and then finally move your fingers up behind your neck to the base of your skull and rub there.

If this elicits a yawn, great.

When you're done, let that arm go.

We'll roll to our side into a fetal position. If you'd like to keep a pillow under your head, we just want to have our head lined up. If it's higher than your spine, it might be too much. If your head is dropping lower than your spine, just think of the crown of your head lined up with your spine. That's what we're going for.

Pick up your top shin parallel to the floor and start to draw some circles lubricating that hip joint. Go the other direction.

Alright, bring that knee in close, take your elbow down towards your knee, and then reach your knee and elbow away from each other. Keep them parallel to the ground for now. So exhale, elbow and knee towards each other. Inhale them away from each other. A few more times. When you're ready, reach them far away from each other. Press your top foot into the floor, maybe a little behind you even. Your arm by your ear reaching away from your foot. And you might feel a stretch in the front of your top hip, through that hip flexor. Your hand reaching can help to elongate your spine.

Your foot reaching can take the front of your hip longer. Then press your hand into the floor and your foot into the floor and breathe. Think of those side ribs expanding, your lower back staying long.

Alright, straightening out your bottom leg so it comes in front of you. You're going to press top hand down, use whatever supports you want to help yourself up to sit, legs apart.

Then we're going to take it to the other side. Then you end up in a fetal position lying on the other side.

Again, line up your head with your spine, pick up your top shin when you're ready, draw some circles from your hip joint.

And we want to get this feeling pretty warm and a little tired. Go the other way.

Make sure your head is lined up with your spine.

Bring your elbow and knee towards each other, and then away from each other. You can exhale curling in, elbow and knee towards each other, inhale them away from each other.

A few times. And when you're ready, reach them away from each other, reach them far away, maybe that top foot goes back a little bit, and then reach them into the floor. So hand and foot reach away and into the floor.

Top side ribs expand, but also you can expand your bottom side ribs. And notice if your bottom ribs are jutting forward, if you could draw them a little bit in.

Okay? Relax that top arm. You can take your hand in front of you. Bottom foot goes out in front. Inhale, exhale. Ease yourself up. Take your legs wide.

Let's take left hand down next to your hip.

Right arm straight up. Inhale. And exhale, reach it over. If you want to slide your bottom hand out a little bit, you can. Inhale, that hand up. Your head can stay where it is. Exhale, reach over. Inhale, up. Exhale, reach over, maybe a little further. Let your head go here. And then keep your head letting go.

Make sure your left hand is supporting you. Right hand starts to reach out the other way, away from your ear. Turn your thumb down. Take your fingers towards the floor, feel that long line between your ear and your fingers. Solid through your sitting bones, solid through the backs of your legs. Separate your back teeth.

Try turning your head a little towards the floor, a little up towards the ceiling.

And then turn your right palm up, bring it all the way up and over to grab the left side of your head and lift. And relax. Let's just notice the two sides now before going on.

Okay, now your right hand down, you can slide it out a little bit until you feel that side bend. Take your left hand straight up towards the ceiling, deep inhale, exhale, reach it over, maybe there's more of a side bend that happens. Inhale the hand up, exhale, reach it over. Of course, listen to your body, listen to your joints.

Three, okay, stay over. Find a place that works. Let your head go, if that's available. And then that left hand is coming up and reaching away from your ear. So your hand and ear are reaching away from each other. You're still in the side bend. And start to turn your left thumb down. Any amount. Reach your fingers towards the floor.

You're rotating your thumb down, then reaching your fingers towards the floor. Breathing. And if it feels good, you can start to turn and look a little towards the floor and a little up. Just a small, subtle movement through your neck. When you have had it, feel your sitting bones. Take your left palm up, reach all the way over to the right side of your head.

Pick up your head and then release. Let your chin come towards the notch between your collarbones. Let your hands rest on your thighs.

Draw a little half neck roll, inhaling up to one side, exhaling back down to center, inhaling up to the other side, and exhaling down. Let's do two more like that. If you prefer to go all the way around, just make sure you change directions.

And when you're complete with that, you'll come to center and roll up through center.

Try this side to side action a few times to end up on your side and if that's not fun for you, get yourself on your side in your own way. Come back to your fetal position take the top leg in front, hovering off the ground a little bit. Maybe your leg is straight, maybe not. And feel like you can widen your sitting bones. So you're pressing your outer bottom thigh into the ground and your outer hip of your top leg towards the ceiling.

Widening out the base of your pelvis.

And then take your top foot to the floor. Straighten out your bottom leg. So your bottom foot is away from your head. Bottom foot away from your head, top foot pressing into the floor, or you could use a prop. If you have a block, you take it under that top foot. Or, you could keep your knee bent. So you have choices.

We want to feel like we're activating a little through that top leg. And then your bottom leg, you can pick it up. You could be up on your forearm if you want a little more curve, but if that feels like a lot on your hip or your shoulder, stay lying down. When that bottom leg is lifted and reaching away from your head You can start to turn your foot up and down a little bit.

Just a small rotation from your ankle, but you'll also probably feel it in your hip where your thigh meets your hip socket as you rotate All right, and then let that leg go. Maybe you move your thigh further back in space. Maybe you bend that knee And if you want to, you can reach back with your top hand and find that foot.

Or, you just find your way into a comfortable twist, not worrying about finding the foot. We want to remember that our practice is non grasping. We want to have a sense of peace and groundedness in our practice.

All right, any time, unwind. Now you have lots of choices in how you get to the other side. You might want to just rock a little side to side from your back, and then find your way to the other side. Any way you want to get there is fine. Starting in a fetal position on the other side,

Line up your nose and the crown of your head with your spine.

Straighten your top leg and take your top foot in front of you. And think of widening out your seat, so your bottom thigh presses into the earth, and the bottom of your pelvis, think of it getting wider. So your hips stay stacked on top of each other, your spine stays long, and you're reaching that foot out.

And then let that foot come down. It can come to the floor, or I've got mine on a block right now. Straighten your bottom leg. So bottom leg straightens out, foot away from your head, head away from your foot, feel the length, and then pick up your bottom foot, bottom leg, and again, you could be up on your forearm if you prefer, if that's fun for you, and then we'll start a little rotation through that bottom leg, keeping it lifted, feeling the strengthening in your adductor muscles in your inner thigh.

Alright, when you've had enough, rest it. You can slide your foot further back if you'd like. Slide your thigh further back, keep your lower back long. Maybe you bend that knee. And as you come into a twist with your upper spine, just a comfortable rotation, you might reach back and find that foot. Again, we're not grasping, we're not doing anything that would cause us harm.

Reach in the direction of that foot, and if it is available to hold the foot or use a strap, you certainly could.

When you feel like this is about even, you can find your way to your back. Maybe you want to rock a little bit.

Take your shins up, parallel to the ground. And your hands up, parallel to each other. Fingers pointing towards the ceiling, shins parallel to the ceiling. And we're going to inhale. Feel like your lower ribs can ground. And as you exhale, you can take your right hand and left knee away from each other, along the continuum of your spine.

Inhale, center. Come back to the starting position. Keep your lower ribs down as you exhale. Left hand, right knee away from each other.

Make a sound.

If you're done, grasp your kneecaps. Use your hands to wrap around your kneecaps and let your knees drop open.

And with your knees open, use the strength of your arms to circle your knees passively towards each other and away from each other.

And go the other direction.

And if you want, you can do a little happy baby tantrum here, shaking, releasing. When you do feel ready, you can make your way to your side, or up to sit.

Where in your life can you find a little more alignment?

Okay, let's end by asking for peace. Breathe in. OM. Shanti, shanti, shanti. Om.

Thanks.

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This is NOT medical advice!

Hi, I’m Kate Lynch! I'm a mindful yoga teacher who helps highly sensitive, empathetic people take themselves off the back burner to make space in their lives for self-care. Since 2002, I’ve supported thousands of yoga students internationally. My little neurodiverse family lives in a magical land called Brooklyn.

If you breathe, you belong here.