WATCH: Olivia Scott Of Freedom At The Mat Shares A Yoga Routine With ESSENCE
Contributing Lifestyle Editor, Dominique Fluker sits down with Brittany Phillips & Olivia Scott to discuss how to deal with holiday grief. In this snippet, Scott allows us to participate in one of her yoga routines.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 I invite you right now just to find an easy pose.
00:04 I love being on the ground.
00:06 It's my favorite place in the entire world,
00:08 which is why I created Freedom at the Mat,
00:10 just to kind of find a little resting place on the mat.
00:12 So if you guys would, whoever is watching,
00:15 and you're inspired to kind of find yourself
00:18 grounded on the ground.
00:19 Now, if you're like, I don't wanna get on the ground
00:21 'cause I don't wanna do that, that's fine too.
00:23 But I invite you to uncross your legs
00:25 and put the soles of your feet,
00:27 connect those with the earth.
00:29 So just do that for a moment.
00:30 Find yourself grounded.
00:35 Go ahead and close your eyes if you will.
00:38 And let's do a body scan.
00:41 So starting with our feet,
00:45 just inhaling, giving some presence
00:49 to the sole of your feet, the arch, the heel.
00:55 Inhale as you breathe up your leg,
01:00 your calf, your knees, your thighs, your hips,
01:05 understanding you are in the center of your gravity.
01:10 Giving some acknowledgement to your abs,
01:14 go ahead and inhale and exhale here.
01:18 Allow the breath to come up the front of your body.
01:24 And take your right hand if you will,
01:25 take the right hand, place it across your chest,
01:28 across your heart.
01:29 And just inhale and exhale.
01:37 And if there's nothing more that you do today,
01:42 if this is the extent that you can do,
01:44 if your grief is burdening you so much,
01:47 the loss of your loved one or relationship or job,
01:53 can you give some comfort to your soul,
01:56 to your heart right now?
01:58 Through your breath.
02:00 Slow breathing, inhale, one, two, three, four.
02:12 Hold for two, exhale, four, three, two, one.
02:23 Take your left hand across the right hand,
02:26 fingertips are slightly grazing across your shoulders.
02:30 Allow the elbows to kind of just relax.
02:33 You are safe.
02:37 You are safe.
02:40 I invite you in this moment
02:44 to send some loving kindness to yourself.
02:52 Although you may be hurting,
02:55 I invite you to think about positive memories
03:02 with your dearly departed.
03:04 Inhale and exhale.
03:09 Would please, we're going to do a quick movement.
03:17 Can you think about that person's face?
03:22 If it's indeed a person who's struggling right now
03:25 to move forward in his life
03:30 without the comfort of that person.
03:32 Eyes closed, inner gaze focused on the space
03:38 between your two eyebrows,
03:40 and in that space between your two eyebrows,
03:43 can you bring the smile, the laughter of that person back
03:48 to visit with you just for a moment?
03:51 Continue breathing, continue breathing.
03:57 You might've thought your heart was gonna stop
04:01 with the loss of that person.
04:02 But through your breath, you're able to continue.
04:11 And in this moment, final couple of seconds,
04:14 connect your heart with that person's.
04:19 Perhaps you actually visualize your heart or your hands
04:26 reaching out to that person.
04:28 Inhale and exhale.
04:38 And go ahead and release the right arm and the left arm.
04:42 Slowly open your eyes.
04:46 Go ahead and extend those arms out to your sides.
04:50 I'm gonna keep it seated, keep it seated.
04:54 Right palm up, left palm down,
04:57 reaching that right arm up, unhunching shoulder blades,
05:00 bring the shoulder blades back and down,
05:03 reaching up and over, giving that side body a stretch.
05:09 Feeling the blood, the circulation move from your waist
05:13 all the way through the hand.
05:15 Beautiful, Dominique, I love that you're looking
05:18 at your hand.
05:20 Then reach the arm back up,
05:22 allow the hand to reach the mat again.
05:26 Same thing, opposite side, arms up, over.
05:36 Come back to center, I know we're rushing time,
05:39 so release that hand.
05:41 And I'd like for you to, if you are seated,
05:44 or if you're on the ground or if you're in a chair,
05:47 just reach your arms up, legs extending before you,
05:50 and then if you can, just reach forward.
05:52 And as you reach forward, hands connect wherever they do
05:59 with your feet and your legs.
06:04 Can you invite yourself,
06:07 to remind yourself that you're still here?
06:15 We know that you're hurting, and we honor that.
06:21 But in this life in which you're still here,
06:25 honor the fact that you have the opportunity to keep moving.
06:34 That's great.
06:36 (upbeat music)
06:38 (dramatic music)