Devi Daly

Vegan yogini nomad sharing Yoga’s message of compassion for self and all beings. Conquering fear with Revolutionary Love.
Great to hear you appreciate the rests - they're so crucial to integrating the practice!
The best preparatory postures for sitting cross-legged are all the yin postures! Particularly she might benefit from Figure 4 on the Wall and the leg/hamstring stretches with a strap. Many older yogis, and yogis with inflexible hips, like to position themselves near a wall when they practice, for back support. That said, at age 70 she may not realistically expect much to change, and might do better to find adapted yin practices that don't involve much sitting. The best adapted class on this site is called Yin Yoga for Inflexible Hips.
Welcome Saskia, Nice to hear you enjoyed the half shoelace exploration. It makes sense that you'd feel more low back stretch than hamstrings - this is not uncommon. Glad to have you practicing with us!
I didn’t suggest it in this particular class but I often do for this pose. Game changer indeed.

13 Nov 19:13

Great, more upper body yin is coming next week!
Glad you enjoyed it Deb. I just love witnessing your commitment to practicing every day! 🧘🏽‍♀️
You’re welcome, Suzanne. Have you tried Figure 4 with a block under your head? A lot of folks like to do it that way. Alternatively, there’s always the wall version which I think you’re probably familiar with. I will make a video soon showing how to adapt the glute poses. Really appreciate hearing your experience!
Happy to hear of the revelations, Meghan!

11 Nov 14:38

Such a pleasure to share the love of cat tail pose! I hope you were able to find a helpful variation to work with the knee issue that you wrote about in the Facebook group 🙏

11 Nov 12:47

Ah spoken like a true functional yogi! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed half shoelace even if it wasn’t the juiciest hamstring stretch. Have you tried half butterfly with a bolster between your leg and your ribs? Wondering if that would help your knee to stay down so that you get the hamstring stretch.