Yin Yoga Snack for Deep Hip & Hamstring Release was not my favorite yin yoga practice. My hips have been pretty tight and sore lately so I was looking for something to help. And I definitely felt the happy baby pose at the end. That was the best part of this practice. I like happy baby pose a lot. But the other two poses: shoelace pose and half saddle pose didn’t feel good and I didn’t feel them in my hips either. They were both uncomfortable on my feet. However, I do have altered feet (2 plates and 12 screws in each heel), so I blame that. In fact, the discomfort in my feet might have been distracting me from any good it was doing in my hips. But because of that, I won’t be returning to this practice.
Yin Yoga Snack for Deep Hip & Hamstring Release is 21 minutes; 1 minute intro. Equipment: folded up blanket.
- Shoelace pose (kneel on one leg, bottom resting on heel, other leg is crossed over thigh so foot is on floor (Aprille has the blanket between her bottom and her heel); one minute into the pose lean your torso forward over legs, placing fingertips on floor and hold for another 2:30 minutes
- Sit with legs bent in front of you, feet on floor, and shift knees side to side (transitional pose)
- Repeat #1 on other leg
- Repeat #2
- Half saddle pose (sit on blanket with one leg extended straight in front of you and the other bent so that heel is just outside of glutes with top of foot flat on floor, hinge forward over legs) for 2 minutes; lift torso and, keeping legs the same, place one hand on floor beside you and reach other arm overhead, doing a side bend for another 30 seconds
- Extend both legs straight in front of you and shift feet side to side (transitional pose)
- Repeat #5 on other side of body
- Repeat #6
- Happy baby pose for about 2 minutes
- Still on back, knees bent, feet off floor, hands on shins pulling knees into chest, shift hips side to side (transitional pose)
- Lay on back, knees bent and pressed together, feet wide and on floor, hands on belly and take deep breaths for one minute
- Roll onto right side and lay in fetal position for a moment then sit up cross-leg with eyes closed and hands to heart in prayer
For more info on Yoga Ranger and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
