Halloween Somatic Yoga
🎃🕷️Happy Halloween friends!!🕷️👻
I always love when Hallow's Eve creeps up in October, such a fun time of year! The fall leaves near me have been SO VIBRANT with electric hues of crimson, gold, amber, and orange! My drives have been so amazing! I had so much fun preparing our Halloween Somatic class this year! Just days before, I fell into a deep dive of origin stories and history of our modern traditions, and wrote up a huge blog post about where Halloween began, and the origins of pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, haunted houses, candy corn, and more! Read up here if you want to nerd out like I did! 
🎃And, onto the fun! We began on our backs, and outstretched the legs and arms, to take up space like a huge spiderweb! Our playlist began with wolves howling, as we melted into the earth. "When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers, Tis near Halloween!" Over 2000 years ago, the Celts in Ireland, Scotland, UK and northern France lit bonfires and gathered together to welcome in the darker half of the year, and celebrate the harvest with singing, dancing, and storytelling! This was Samhain (Sow-win), All Hallow's Eve, and eventually Halloween! It was believed that the veil or barrier between our earthly world and spiritual world was thinner on this day, October 31, and celebrations brought communities together to share ancestors' stories, and connect the past and present during these bonfire nights!
🕷️I thought finding a Halloween quote to tie into a yoga class would be nearly impossible, but I found one!🎃”Halloween reminds us that some of us may choose to wear a mask, while others finally feel safe to take theirs off." Yoga is the shedding of layers, the removal of armor, and the letting go everything heavy and burdensome that we no longer need! The removal of masks, so that we may come home to our truest selves! Also, this quote from Harry Potter's Albus Dumbledore is always a gem, even on Halloween! 
👻We allowed the head and the shoulders to become heavy, and melt into the earth. Each vertebrae began to ground down, one at a time, to the hips and they became heavy. The arms and legs soften. During this airy, light, breezy season, it's important to ground, so we don't get swept away! Our pranayama here in our spider web was a Candle breath, deeply inhaling through the nose, from the toes all the way up into the belly, filling it up, expanding, taking up space, pausing at the top of that breath, curl the lips into a circle, and slowly exhaling through the mouth, as if we are slowly blowing out a candle. We repeated this two more times, the inhale lengthening to the chest, filling the lungs, expanding the ribs, and thirdly to the crown! Each time, the exhale becoming slower and longer each time, calming the nervous system. We became present in the body and the space we're in, and allowed all of our past stresses to be cast into the fire to be taken away from us, and transformed into something new, something for our greater good. Our future schedules and to-do lists floated away, into the breeze, no longer needed. Nothing to do, nowhere else to be but right here in this moment for ourselves. 
🎃We moved through a scan of the 5 senses: When the mind wanders, coming back to the body through the senses brings us back into the present moment. We noticed what we see around us, or beyond the lids if the eyes are closed, finding peace in the darkness. We traveled to our smell, noticing what we smell around us, maybe food cooking nearby, fresh laundry drying, coffee brewing, maybe a scent in the room. I sprayed Nutmeg and Sage above everyone in the studio. We scanned to our hearing, noticing birds song outside, maybe traffic, the hum of the furnace providing heat, pinpointing an instrument playing in the music in studio, and on to our taste, noticing the last thing we may have eaten, or a sip of cup of tea or coffee, softening the jaw, separating the teeth. Lastly, we noticed our sense of touch, what we feel against the skin, the warmth of the air or sun, maybe a cool breeze, the softness of our clothes, the stickiness of our mat beneath us, supporting us, holding us, serving as our anchor, as we shed bringing us back home to ourselves.
🕸️🕷️We lengthened long with an inhale, hands reaching overhead, toes reaching forward, exhaled knees to chest for a hug, rocking side to side massaging the lumbar spine. We moved into a Crescent Moon, hands and feet extending to the upper and lower left corners of our mat, shoulders and hips melting to the earth. The moon, our yin, slow, feminine energy, honoring the light in the dark nights sky. We honored the right side, masculine, active, warm sun side, came through center, knees hug into the chest. Inhale feet reach to the sky, T-pose, hands reach up, rolling wrists & ankles, like bugs stuck on their backs. Right leg crosses over the left, Cowface legs, inhale cactus the arms to the earth, right over left Eagle arms, like a bug wrapped up in a spider's web, inhale hands reach overhead tapping the earth as the toes tap down, exhale crunch in, inhale tap down, exhale crunch in, 3 times, unravel the arms to the earth, hips scooch to the right, knees fall to the left, Supine twist. Inhale through center knees hug in, rocking side to side, we found our Bridge pose, hips melt down, inhale feet reach to the sky, hands reach up, circling wrists & ankles, like a bug on its back, left leg over the right, finding our bug wrapped up in a spiderweb, crunching in, 3 times, ending in a supine twist. We came into our Floating bridge pose, lifting the hips, chest toward the chin, hands reach up overhead and behind to the earth, melting back down, 3 times floating our bridge, this pathway between the earthly and spirit world. We rock and rolled along the spine to the top of our mat, moving toward a comfortable seat.
👻We anchored the sit bones, spine lengthened to the crown, crown to the sky, and crossed the legs or found a half or full lotus, and closed the eyes, with our hands resting on the knees. We brought the hands into prayer at the chest, and with the inhale opened the arms out into cactus arms, today it's our Bat Wings, exhaled as we curled in, arching the back, dripping the chin toward the chest, cradling the head as the forearms meet. We repeated this 2 more times filling the lungs with prana energy! We brought the palms together, rubbed them together to create some heat, some healing energy, and cupped the hands to the eyes, sending healing energy to the soul. Hands floated to the crown, sending healing energy to the mind, calming the chatter. The mind can become stuck in the past, ruminating over things that have been, or travel too far forward into the future with worry, but the body is always present, so here we connect and stay present. One hand floated to the forehead, and the other to the base of the skull, sending healing energy to the mind + body, finally bringing the hands to the heart sending gratitude to the heart and lungs. We set an intention for our class, and released it, reaching the hands to the sky and to the right for a twist, peeling the right shoulder back to open the chest 5% more. We arched the right hand to the sky and toward the opposite knee to open the side body, and then brought it to the left knee, crossing the arms, arching the back and dripping the chin. Inhale the left hand to the sky, and plant behind us for a twist to the left, came through center, planted the fingers behind us, opened the chest, arching the spine into a backbend, and then into a forward fold. We unraveled the legs and melted the hips back into a child’s pose, walking the hands to the right, center, and left. We created a small bowl, a Cauldron, with our hands, filling it with our personal intentions for our practice.
🎃We slowly rolled the spine, arching the back, brushing the fingertips along the mat toward the knees, the chin dripping toward the chest, until our glutes met the heels, and then the spine waving long, crown reaching to the sky, the shoulders melting back, and the spine concaves, the arms extend out to the sides, and up, palms together, to the heart, and melting forward, walking the fingertips into a forward fold. We repeated this Zombie Roll in Childs pose 2 more times, delighting in this spinal awakening of the body. Our cat cow flow followed as we warmed up the spine, adding in organic movement, hips swaying side to side, or rolling forward and back into Childs pose waving back and forward into our table top. We moved to our breath, our own pace, making our cat cow our own. We melted into our forearms, tail to the sky, into our puppy pose, today our Werewolf pose. We inhaled gaze and right toes to the sky, lengthening to the sky, as if we're wolves howling into the moon, exhaled nose to knee, repeating 2 more times, and then peeled the right toes to the back left side of our mat, pulsing into the ball of the right foot. Gaze thru center, right knee tucks in behind the left, hands walk to the right, hips melt back, Cross-legged Childs pose. Inhale float forward, hands to the top of our mat, right leg unravels out to the right side, hips melt back, 1-legged Childs pose. Inhale forward we floated off of the hands, chest lifted, into our gate pose, right hand to the right leg, left hand arching overhead, and then cartwheeling the left hand then the right to the top of our mat, right knee in to the meet the left into our table, cat cow flow into the forearms, and then honored the left side!
🕸️🕷️We flowed through downward dog- plank waves, pranam knees chest chin, into a low cobra, and up into our downward dog. We floated to the top of our mats into a forward fold, root to rise, we slowly lifted up, one vertebrae at a time, the head the last to come through, into our Tadasana, our mountain pose. We felt the grounding energy from the earth pull at the soles of our feet from the toes to the arches to the heels, like roots of a tree pulling us into he soil, anchoring us. This energy circled around the legs, to the pelvis, the hips, around each vertebrae of the spine to the shoulders as they melt down from the ears. The crown reaching for the heavens, we are stable, rooted, and anchored.
Our first flow spiced up our energy, kept us warm, and rooted to the earth as we flowed into our downward dog, lifted high into the toes, rolled forward into plank, creating waves as slowly as possible, into pranam, low cobra, downward dog, into our tadasana, rooting the feet into the earth, feeling that grounding energy all the way up to the crown. We moved through Crescent Moon side bends palms together overhead, to the right and left, thru center, inhale cactus the arms, exhale cradle the head, arch the back, forearms together, inhale one more round, exhale sit deep into our Chair, today our Witches Broom, twist to the right, elbow hooks the knee, through center, to the left, thru center, to the right again, left foot steps back, Twisted Crescent Warrior, exhale we pivot to the left foot, Skandasana, inhale top of the mat, Twisted Crescent Warrior, left hand down, right hand high Twisted Lunge, right hand down, right foot sweeps up 3 limb Downward Dog, right knee taps to the left elbow, right, and into the chest, thread it thru to the left, Fallen Star, right knee into the chest, right foot steps forward, Warrior I, cactus the arms, open our Bat Wings, cradle the head, 2 times, and float forward Warrior 3, left leg floats back, light as a Ghost, open up the left hip, Half Moon into the right foot, right hand. Left hand down, hips square to the earth, left foot lands back of the mat, right hand high Twisted Lunge, exhale thread right hand under the left arm, inhale high, exhale thread, 3 times, we melt to the left foot, Skandasana, melt the hands forward. Inhale hips lift thru center, Wideleg fold, heavy through the head and shoulders, we roll up to stand, 5-pointed Star, knees bend into our Goddess pose, arms out to a T, right over left, eagle the arms, and Snake our way, waving the spine to the right and left, all the way down into our wideleg fold, swaying our bind left to right. 
🎃Next time we meet our left foot, release the bind, left toes turn to the back of our mat, float forward into our Half Moon, building from the ground up, right leg floats, right hand to the sky. Right hand grounds, square the hips toward the earth, right foot steps to back of the mat, we rise up Crescent Warrior, inhale Bat Wings the arms, exhale curl in cradle the head, 2 times, we float forward Warrior III, right leg floats, right foot steps to the back, we melt into our Pyramid, all 10 toes face the back of our mat, hands to blocks, melt the heart. Palms ground left foot sweeps up thru center, 3 limb dog, knee to nose, inhale lift bend the knee open the hip, we might flip into our Wild Thing, thru center, roll forward into our plank, heels drip to the right, Scarecrow Sideplank, left hand high, thru center, Scarecrow side plank to the left, thru center, walk the hands back toward the feet, heel toe out, Yogi squat, flying our crow, or staying in our Gargoyle! Hips lift, right foot steps behind the left, swivel around to the top of our mat, inhale sit deep into our Witch's broom, lower the hips, into a toe squat, hands reach out, palms face down, inhale we lift, activating the quads, and lower, inhale lift, exhale lower, Zombie Squats, meeting in a forward fold. Move through your flow, and meet in our Tadasana to honor the left side!
Our Somatic practice gives us tools to regulate our nervous system, to stimulate the vagus nerve that begins at the base of the brain and runs down the neck, and throughout the body touching every organ system, communicating between body and brain! 80% of these messages are from the body to the brain, so when we intentionally stimulate the vagus nerve, we're telling the brain that the body is safe, not under threat. We agitated emotions stuck in the body, to help them release, and to serve as a reset button. I usually alternate between these tools each week! We rubbed the palms together to create some healing heat, and we brought the fingertips to the crown, massaging the fingertips all over the crown and behind the ears, even the base of the skull, directly into our vagus nerve. We moved into the temples, massaging circles here, relieving migraines, we dripped the fingers to the jaw, the hinge where we open and close the jaw, the perfect release for jaw clenchers like myself, and maybe you too. We pulled down on the ear lobes, pulled the middle of the ears out to the sides, up to the top of the ears pulling toward the sky. With one hand to the base of the skull, pressing into the vagus nerve, the other hand brought the index and middle fingers to the hairline at the forehead and began rolling the fingers down the forehead, between the eyebrows, down the bridge of the nose to the tip, repeating 3 times, and switching out the hands. We brought our fingertips to the base of the skull, pressing into our vagus nerve, and melted the fingertips toward the ears, along the jawline, and down the front of the neck to the collarbone. We repeated this 2 more times, releasing tightness in the throat. We tapped into the collarbone, with slow rythmic taps, all fingers in unison, into one of our acupressure points in the body. We brought this tapping to the sternum, center of the chest. We slowly tapped here, some of us hold tension here, creating tightness in the chest, shallow or rapid breathing. The tapping sends messages to the brain that were not in danger, to slow down the heart rate, and encourage deeper, longer, slower inhales and exhales. We can continue tapping with the fingertips or Bilateral Butterfly taps using cupped hands over one another on the chest, activating both hemispheres of the brain, continuing as we inhaled, paused to bring the hands to the heart, stacked on top of one another, and as we exhaled we audibly hummed a "OM" sound connecting to our Crown Chakra, activation of our enlightenment! Our bee breath🐝! If you hold tension here in the chest, this is a nice release! Humming is a somatic release, also good for respiratory infection season to break things up in the lungs, and humming has shown to reduce anxiety better than sleep! We crossed the arms at the chest, and squeezed into opposite shoulders, down to the biceps and triceps, and into the forearms. We brought the hands to the shoulders again for a squeeze, and swiped the hands down the arms, chest, abdomen, low back, and legs, making sure anything heavy or unwanted that is still tethered to the body is fully released, we send it all out into the wind to be carried far away. On the way up, we formed fists, pounding into the body, until in Tadasana, swaying the arms left to right, ending in Tadasana. We noticed the effects, feeling heat, cool, tingling, maybe even a yawn, all signs we've moved closer toward regulation in the nervous system. The goal is not to simply feel calm, it is to use these tools off of our mat to hold larger capacity for stress, to better cope with stressors and triggers, sitting with these difficult emotions, for longer periods, allowing ourselves to FEEL, rather than run from them or mask them with unhealthy things. We can help ourselves come out of a state where we feel stuck or stagnant in a fight or flight or freeze state. We need these states at certain times of our lives, for survival, but we don't want to live there. We can pendulate in and out as needed using these important tools. We released everything from last year, last month, yesterday, that we need to let go of, swipe it away, let yourself be free of it, so we don't carry this heaviness any longer! Allow it to melt down your back! Let it drift into the breeze, the water, no longer needed in this moment! We found lightness, balance, and freedom.
🎃We came into stillness, then swayed right and left, and found stillness again, noticing the effects: we can feel cool, heat, or tingling sensations, even a spontaneous yawn! All signs of a regulated nervous system. We removed anything stuck, anything harmful & toxic still attached to the body! We stimulated the vagus nerve, the super highway of information from the brain to the body! We sent messages to the brain that the body is not under threat, it does not have to exist in a continuous active state (fight /flight/freeze mode). We helped our body to experience a larger capacity for triggers to be felt and moved through. We have the ability to help our nervous system shift fluidly between states when each are needed, the sympathetic & parasympathetic nervous systems! Both are useful and 100% needed, but we do not want to become stuck in one state for too long. These practices are so useful off the mat as we encounter stress or triggers in our daily lives! We find balance! We find freedom!
🕸️🕷️Our final flow began in Tadasana, inhale the hands reach overhead, exhale Swan dive forward fold, step the feet back into our Downward dog, right leg lifts, exhale knee to chest, inhale lift, exhale thread it thru to the left, Fallen Star, right knee to chest, right shin forward, hands wander outside the edges of our mat, inhale lift, exhale we melt the chest, elbows to the sky, into our Creepy Pigeon, inhale rolling up, exhale melting down, forming waves up and down. Inhale right leg unravels to the sky, right foot down to meet the left. Knees melt down, Inhale lift the palms off the mat,Dancing Zombie, right hand to right heel, left hand overhead, exhale through center, inhale left hand to left heel, right hand high, flowing back and forth, Full Zombie, both hands to both heels, Coming back thru center, downward dog, left leg lifts, we find our Fallen Star, and Creepy Pigeon on the left side. Inhale we roll onto the left hip, right knee over left, Cowface, arms out to a T, eagle the arms, right over left, inhale we lift, exhale fold in, all bound up like a Mummy! Inhale we lift, unravel the right leg out to the right, left foot into the right thigh, sidebend. Cartwheel back up, left hand behind us, hips lift, Spooky Arch, right hand overhead, exhale we melt, right leg back over the left, Cowface, walk the hands to the left, hips lift, keep walking around as we swivel to the back, Wideleg fold, keep walking the hands around to the top of the mat, into our Cowface, left over right now, honoring our cool down on the left side!
👻After our Spooky Arch on the left side, we ground the hips, Straddle pose, V-shape, extend the legs, inhale we lift, exhale we fold forward. Inhale help the knees inhale, plant the feet, palms behind us, fingers toward the heels, inhale lift the hips, Reverse Table, rocking forward and back or side to side, just like in the Exorcist. Exhale lower the hips down, inhale Butterfly pose, soles of the feet together, today it's our Death Head Moth, a skull appears on their back! we make peace fingers with our hands, hook the big toes, inhale we extend the feet out, opening up our Death Head Moth, micro bend in the knees, and roll to the back into our Happy Baby, not Rosemary's Baby, happy baby!! hahaha! Rocking side to side, grounding to the mat, reconnecting to the soil beneath us, back to the Earth. We lengthened long, hugged the knees into the chest, right leg over left, hugged the thighs together and reached for shins gently pulling the knees toward the chest. This lengthens the IT band, and helps to soften where the sciatic nerve travels, releasing any pain we may have there. We released our shins, planted the bottom foot for a supine twist! We might reach for the bottom foot, Black Cat pulling its tail. We honored the opposite side! We lengthened long, hugged the knees in, lengthened long again, and formed our Crescent Moons once more, honoring our Sun, warm, active right side, and our Moon, cool, yin, restful, left side, coming full circle in our practice, embracing the balance. We made time to come into any final poses we needed before our final rest, such as legs up the wall, bridge, plow or wheel, or coming into Savasana early! 
🕸️🕷️We made it to our PEAK POSE: Savasana! Together, we completed a full body cleanse! We found meditative peace, a calming of the mind, removed masks, heavy burdens, found insight into ourselves, we experienced expansion, fearlessness, release, and freedom. Yoga helps us shed what we no longer need, so we may see our most purest selves! We connect to divinity! To slow down means to heal! That is why savasana is the peak pose, the most important pose, the goal, the pinnacle. To find peace. In the stillness! We surrender. We discover ourselves again without the layers, the armor, the walls. They all come down, revealing our divine self.
👻As I began to wake everyone up from their savasana, the Thriller song began to play, with the beginning a slow creaking of a door opening, it was perfect! haha! It was so much fun, and such an honor to hold this healing space for you, in our fun Halloween class! I will treasure it always! Remember that while others choose to put on a mask this Halloween, you can choose to remove any mask you've been wearing, maybe knowingly or unknowingly, to show your authentic self! Come back home to your true self and bask in the freedom!
🦇Next year, I'm going to find a glow in the dark skeleton suit to teach in! Because this was all I had to work with, and next year will be more fun! I loved creating our Halloween Yoga Class playlist! Listen here!!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ZDxFBIiyFTTyTVcuY1Vzm?si=J8v0uvGTTSW8xkDsY1cPAw&pi=u-KFrI2jTgTrCO
Namaste beautiful souls! Come practice with me on Fridays at 11:30 and Sundays at 10:00!
