– Hey everyone,
welcome to Yoga with Adriene. I'm Adriene, and this is Benji, and today we have an
awesome practice of yoga and pranayama for the spine. So this is a season where
we're all trying to get fit and ripped and blah, blah, blah, and that's really great but
today is just a wonderful, beautiful,
hopefully very kind reminder to not put the
cart before the horse, to really focus on
the inner ecosystem, knowing that that will
absolutely have an effect on our beautiful
outer ecosystem. So hop into something comfy
and get ready to breathe deep, and let's get started. (upbeat music) All right my darling friends, let's begin in a
comfortable seat. Cross your legs or your
ankles, sit up nice and tall. If you want to
kick it old-school, move the fleshy part
of the buttocks aside, so you can feel your sits bones really
rooting to the ground. That's fabulous. Just take a couple
actions on your own to get settled in so
that you can eventually find a little stillness. So the invitation is there
to really take what you need, fix your hair, pull up
your drawers, get situated.
And then as you're ready, we'll begin to sit
up a little taller, and invite a deeper breath in. And out. And while we are
trying to honor our time and keep up with the pace of things, this is your time to slow down. So in particular, with
the spring and summer seasons in my culture,
things start to amp up. And while it's good to
embrace the active energy, the sunshine, shed some weight, be light, it doesn't always
mean harder, faster. We want to make
sure we're tending to the inner ecosystem,
the energetic body, as well as the outer body. So today's practice is a
great full body practice, but we're coming at it
from the focus of the spine, and the energy that runs up
and down the center channel, the sacred line of the spine.
Relax your shoulders and if
you can, close your eyes here, I'll guide you with my voice. Again, just slowly arriving
here in the present moment, and there's an invitation
to sit up a little taller, and as you're ready, breathe more fully,
deeper breaths. And then just see what's going
on today, what's coming up? What distractions are there, either in the room
with you, or inside? And then notice the
thoughts that are coming up, and then acknowledge them. And notice the sensations
that are arising in the body as you come into
stillness and acknowledge them.
(birds chirping) I can hear some little birds
chirping outside my window. Just notice any sounds, just kind of take in
the quality of the air. (inhaling and exhaling deeply) And now shift your attention with purpose towards
the sound of your breath, so we start to focus now more
on the sound of the breath. (inhaling and exhaling deeply) Notice if you want to fidget, if you want to pause the video or if you want
to choose a new one, see if you can kind
of lean into this moment, just accept where
you are and be present. We talk about it all the
time in yoga, being present, being in the now. Today, allow
each now to be another step toward the next now, a doorway to the
next present moment.
So just keep going. (inhaling and exhaling deeply) So we're sitting
up nice and tall, we're listening to
the sound of the breath, we're coming into
the role of the observer, and then just very easy, we're
gonna start to move the head so you can go one
ear over one shoulder, or you can soften it and
make it a little more fluid, but just soft,
gentle movements as you tick tock the head a
little, side to side, and keep your eyes closed, and start to
lift up a little more through the chest, the heart. And as you tick tock
the head back and forth or maybe find a soft motion, I always think of this as like
my ode to Mr. Stevie Wonder. As you start to move
the head a little bit here, sometimes it helps
to keep the eyes closed, see your spine for
the crown to the tail, so really want to
integrate the neck today.
And then continue to
breathe nice full breaths. And then bring it back
to center and open the eyes. Here we go,
spreading the fingertips, squeeze the
shoulders up to the ears, spread your fingertips,
and then exhale, relax the shoulders
down the back body, hands come to the
tops of the thighs. Beautiful, inhale
in through the nose. (inhaling deeply) Exhale, SH sound
out through the mouth. (exhaling deeply) Two more times, see if
you can make your exhale longer than mine. Big inhale, lift your
heart, sit up nice and tall. (inhaling deeply) Exhale, navel
draws in, SH sound. (exhaling deeply) Empty, empty, empty, so
much so that your next inhale is just naturally big
and beautiful and buoyant. (inhaling deeply) And one more time. (exhaling deeply) Empty, empty,
empty everything out. And then inhale,
big full breath. Awesome work, we're
gonna draw the left heel in, right ankle to follow, and
reach the arms all the way up and overhead on a big inhale. Here we go, spreading
the fingertips, inhale. Reach for the sky. Sit up nice and tall. As you inhale, send the breath
down to your lower belly. So fingertips are reaching
up, breath is traveling down.
Imagine you're
holding a big beach ball up and overhead. Thumbs back, pinkies forward. Inhale, reach, stand up, little bit taller
through the spine. And then exhale, ground
down through the thighs. (exhaling deeply) Again, inhale, lift and
lengthen up through the spine. (inhaling deeply) Exhale, ground down through
the hips, the thighs, the feet. Great, one more time, inhale. (inhaling deeply) Exhale, rain it down,
take the hands forward. (exhaling deeply) And we start to open
up through the right hip. And then you can repeat the
tick tock of the head here. You can find a little sway, or maybe you
soften into some stillness and allow the
breath to move you, relaxing then
weight of the head over. (exhaling deeply) Continue to listen, listen
to the sound of your breath, listen to the sensations
that are arriving today. (inhales and exhaling deeply) And then ground down
through the sit bones, tuck the chin and roll it up.
Allow your right heel to come
in, left ankle to follow. And again, we inhale, spread
the fingertips nice and slow. Stand up nice and
tall through the spine so all four sides of
the torso are lengthening. Really maximizes,
stretch your lift and lengthen. (inhaling deeply) Then exhale,
find places to ground, take your big
beach ball overhead, lots of energy
in the fingertips. Tuck the chin just
slightly, breathe in, inhale. (inhaling deeply)
And exhale. (exhaling deeply) Inhale, fill the lungs. (inhaling deeply) Exhale, ground
down through the thighs. (exhaling deeply) One more breath,
inhale, lift and lengthen. (inhaling deeply) And exhale, rain it
down, take it forward, start to open up
through the left hip. And find what feels good here, continue to listen to
the sound of your breath. Pay attention.
(inhaling and exhaling deeply) And ground down
through the sit bones, use your hands to press
you all the way back up. Hands come to the
heart, Anjali Mudra, inhale, lift the sternum to the thumbs. Exhale, chin to chest, navel
draws back, rounding through, crown of the head
towards the earth. Inhale, lift and lengthen,
lift the chin this time. (inhaling deeply) And exhale, chin to chest, rounding through the
shoulders, round forward. And one more time,
inhale, lift and lengthen. (inhaling deeply) And exhale. See if you can really
maximize the length of stretch in the upper back body. (exhaling deeply) Beautiful,
interlace the fingertips here, press the palms
forward up and back, let this lift you up,
pinkies reach all the way back. Inhale in and exhale
out through the mouth. Cactus arms, bend
the elbows, rain it down.
(exhaling deeply) Gorgeous. Alright, we're gonna
come forward onto all fours, take your time getting there. When you arrive, find
a nice, neutral spine. And for today's
Tabletop Position, we're gonna curl the
toes under first thing. Spread the palms super wide. As you're ready, take
your gaze straight down, creating one nice, long line
from the crown to the tail.
So hug the upper body up
to meet the back body here. And with the toes
curled under, we'll inhale in, exhale, lift the knees. Let them hover. (inhaling deeply) Create a little fire in the
belly as you draw the navel up. (exhaling deeply) Lengthen through
the back of the neck. So the neck is a nice,
long extension of the spine. Then elbow creases,
shine forward here, soft bend in the elbows. We're here for five, four, three, two, and headed to
Downward Facing Dog on the one, straighten the legs,
lift the hips up high. Walk the palms out,
nice, wide dog here to start, and then start to bend
the knees and pedal it out. (exhaling deeply) Find a nice,
full deep breath here. (inhaling deeply) Sending breath
to the lower belly, as you stretch out the feet,
stretch out the ankles. Keep the elbow
creases shining forward. Upper arm bones
rotating externally. Right arm out to the right, left arm out to the left, lots of space between
the ears and the shoulders. Now bend your knees generously. Everyone, belly comes
towards the tops of the thighs.
And play with this
connection of all fingertips pressing into the earth, so much so that you're
taking all the pressure out of your wrists here. Beautiful, lift up a little
higher through the hip creases, you got this, then
last but not least, support your back body by
hugging the lower ribs in. So hug those lower ribs,
engage the abdominals. Beautiful,
slowly lower the knees, bring the big toes to touch, knees as wide as your yoga mat. Inhale, loop the shoulders, pull them back away
from the ears, look forward. (inhaling deeply) And exhale, send the hips, the
buttocks, everything on back. Extended Child's Pose. Fingertips actively
reach towards the front edge. And then allow the
heart to gently melt down, forehead comes to the mat. (inhaling deeply) And we reconnect to the sound
of the breath, your spirit. Your soul. (inhaling deeply) Breathe into
the upper back body. (exhaling deeply) Feel the breath
as you breathe in. Feel the upper back
body rise as you breathe out, feel the shoulder girdle,
the heart melt down, falling with the breath. So couple moments here to
play with that rise and fall.
Moving the energy that
runs up and down the spine, not with a ton of
heavy-hitting awesomeness today but with the
power of the breath. (inhaling and exhaling deeply) Awesome. Pressing in the tops
of the feet, and nice and slow, come all way back up
to Tabletop Position. Once again, curl the toes under. Press away from the yoga
mat, so suck, peak front body up to meet the back body. So peek at me if you need to. There's a tendency often to
drop the small of the back here. Natural curve, no
big deal, very normal. So draw the navel up
and lengthen out through the tail and the lower back. And then same
thing with the head. Head may be dipping down here, so send the crown
towards the front. Tug away with the shoulders to
create a little more length, and then as you're ready, lift the kneecaps
and let them hover. (exhaling deeply) Beautiful, press away
from your yoga mat here, so I'm not
collapsing the shoulders, but I'm creating
stability in the shoulders, I'm lifting my heart space up
between my shoulder blades.
I'm here for five, four, look forward maybe, three, two, Downward Dog on the one, hips up high, walk it out. (inhaling and exhaling deeply) Awesome, anchor through
the left heel, and inhale, slide the right leg up high. Just keep your right foot
in line with your right hip, so turn your right toes down. Inhale, lift the
right heel a little higher. Then exhale, knee to nose, rounding through,
clawing through the fingertips, knee to nose, knee to nose,
squeeze and lift. Beautiful, and then release. Right heel down, inhale,
lift the left leg up high. (inhaling deeply) Level it out, turn
the left toes down. Hug front body up
to meet the back body. Claw into the
fingertips then inhale, lift the left
heel a little higher. And then exhale, knee to nose. Shift your body forward,
shoulders over the wrists. Squeeze and lift, squeeze
and lift, squeeze and lift, and then back to your Down Dog.
(exhaling deeply) Right leg, inhale, lift it high. (inhaling deeply) Exhale, squeeze, knee to nose. Think Cat Pose in the spine. Squeeze and lift, press
away from your yoga mat, and then release
it back, Down Dog. Inhale, left leg high, last one. (inhaling deeply) Exhale, knee to nose,
nice and slow, stick with it. Lean in, see what's
coming up, don't give up. (exhaling deeply) Beautiful, Downward Facing Dog, we're coming off the arms here, so here we go, we're
gonna step the right leg all the way forward, and
then we're just gonna turn the right toes in.
We're gonna shift
to the side of our mat so that both big
toes are coming in, we're coming in to a
Wide-Legged Forward Fold. So if you need to
make some adjustments to get there, please do. And then legs are nice and
wide, big toes turn in slightly, and we really anchor through
the outer edges of the feet. And then start to draw some
energy up through the arches to engage the inner thighs. So you're hugging muscle
to bone here for support, we're not just splaying out, putting all this
pressure on our joints. We're really finding a
lift from the ground up. (exhaling deeply) Great, then for many, you might
need to stay on a block here or even use a
piece of furniture. If your hands come to
the ground, wonderful, and if you can walk them
back in line with the arches, give it a go.
Soft micro-bend
in the knees here. Again, lots of
connection to the earth. Then big full breaths here. If your hands are on
props, stay where you are. Otherwise, take the right hand
to the top of the left shin, and then the left hand to
the top of the right shin. Now, if you have to walk your
feet a little bit closer, you might give it a try. If you don't make it, you
might just grab your pants. Or, keep the hands on
the earth, criss-cross. We're here for five
breaths, check it out. Shake the head loose, breathe
into the upper back body, stay nice and strong
and powerful in the legs. Lift up from the hip
creases, breathing deep. (exhaling deeply) If you have the space and you've
been practicing for a bit, you might try taking your
right elbow and bending it and looking underneath
your right upper chest, creating more space,
but don't push it, just, just notice.
And then slowly release,
fingertips come to the earth and we inhale,
halfway lift, find length. (inhaling deeply) And exhale, fold. (exhaling deeply) And this time, left arm
on top, right arm underneath. Same thing. And this
side might be different, so you might have to
keep the hands on the earth for this criss-cross. (inhaling and exhaling deeply) Send breath to
the upper back body, send breath to
the lower back body. Feel the breath rise and fall. So good for all systems go. Talk about spring
cleaning, summer cleaning. Breathe deep, feel
your breath rise and fall. Great for the nervous
system, great for the kidneys. If you want, next up here would
be to bend that left elbow and start to look, whoo, whoo.
(chuckles) Connect to your center
and then look underneath. (exhaling deeply) So it's actually a good reminder
to really stay connected to your center from (inhaling deeply) moving from a place of connect. Wherever you are,
take one more breath, and then exhale, release. Inhale, halfway lift. (inhaling deeply) And exhale, fold. (exhaling deeply) From here, anchor to
your core from your middle, heel-toe, heel-toe,
feet in all the way. We're gonna
bring it all the way in to Uttanasana, Forward Fold. (inhaling deeply) And then we're just gonna do
a gentle turn, bend the knees, take your toes
towards the front of your mat. Great, now knees come
together, feet come together, arch to arch. Use the fingertips on the earth, bend the knees generously, come into a little ball here
so the heels are gonna reach up stretching through the feet, creating more flexibility
in the feet, we need that. Chin to chest,
and we're gonna come to a little
balancing posture here, you can keep your fingertips
on the earth and stay here. Or eventually, we're
gonna scoot the tailbone under, find that Mula Bandha,
Uddiyana Bandha, so lift up from
the pelvic floor, hug in at the middle, and then draw your
hands to your heart.
Toe stand. Can you believe it? (exhaling deeply) So stay
dedicated to your breath. Not just because
that's what we do in yoga, but because that is, that's your
bread and butter baby, your breath, your life force. I mean, your spirit. (inhaling and exhaling deeply) Got to find my Bandhas again. Alright, one more
breath here, you got it. Then exhale, check it out, hold onto your Drishti,
your focus, out in front. Open the knees. Fingertips come to the ground. Plant the palms. Hug the knees up
towards the armpit, chest.
Inhale, look forward,
lift the hips. You can just stay here, you
might come on to the toes, or maybe you lift up, Crow Pose. What? Lifting up through
the upper back body as you have all practiced,
sending breath and awareness to the upper back body. Squeeze and lift,
squeeze and lift. And then if
you're lifted, come down. We'll meet our homies all here, with the toes on the ground, and then a little core strength
as you bring the knees in, come on to the heels,
send the fingertips forward, and slowly come to a seat. Boat Pose. So if this is annoying,
'cause the belly's not coming close to the thighs or you
have big breasts or whatever, just love your body and, and know that the rest
of us wish we were you.
(laughing) Right? You always want
what you can't have, so be with your body,
let's all practice accepting exactly who we are as we come
into Navasana, Boat Pose. You can grab the
wrists here, and lift up, and it's a
practice, loving yourself. Man. Alright, we're here
for a couple more breaths. See if you can lift
up through the heart. Wrap the shoulder blades around, so we've been spreading
the shoulder blades here, now we're gonna wrap
the shoulder blades around one last time, maybe
send the fingertips forward. (exhaling deeply) Inhale, in. Exhale, low boat, nice and low.
Low, low, low. And then inhale, lift up. Two more. Low boat, check it out. (exhaling deeply) Take your time,
and then lift up. And last one, here we go, ready? Inhale. And exhale, lower. (exhaling deeply) Beautiful, inhale the smile, and exhale, let everything go. Come to the ground, lie down, snuggle your shoulder blades
underneath your heart space. (exhaling deeply) Breathe in. (inhaling deeply) And breathe out. (exhaling deeply) Breathe in. (inhaling deeply) And breathe out. Now keep it going
and close your eyes and just feel the rise
and the fall of your breath as you breathe in and out. (inhaling and exhaling deeply) Then walk the heels together,
and in our next breath in, lift the right knee
up towards the chest. Wrap your arms around the shin, and then bring the right knee
towards the right shoulder. Rotate the right ankle
one way and then the other. Inhale, in. Exhale, supine twist. Turn to look
towards your right hands, feel the stretch in
the outer hip, the spine. Try to bring your
right shoulder to the ground. And feel the rise and
the fall of your breath here.
(inhaling and exhaling deeply) And then bring
it back to center. Knee to nose, or nose to knee. (exhaling deeply) Then release. Left knee comes up,
big breath in. (inhaling deeply) Exhale, squeeze the
left knee to left shoulder. (exhaling deeply) Rotate the ankle. Make sure you're not
clenching in the jaw, and just stay present. Each present moment,
a doorway to the next. Just stick with it, we're almost
done, you are doing great. Inhale, in. Exhale, supine twist. Guide that knee
over with mindfulness. And open up to the left.
Try to bring your left
shoulder down and breathe deep. (inhaling and exhaling deeply) Inhale, in. As you exhale,
bring it back to center. Knee to nose. Head to knee
pose here, breathe in. (inhaling deeply) And release on the out. Supta Baddha Konasana, bring
the soles of the feet together, open the knees wide. Left hand comes to the heart, right hand to the
belly, then literally, press into your head
and lift your chest up. (groans) And then create space
between your lower back body and the mat here,
so a little back bend. Inhale, find
what feels good here. Make any
adjustments that you need. And then come to a place where
you can completely relax, so you might walk
the shoulders back up. (inhaling deeply) Soften through the toes.
Close your eyes. And then see if you can detect the wave of calm, a blanket of love,
just a stillness here as you'd surrender to gravity
as you open through the hips. (inhaling deeply) Continue to feel your breath,
the rise and the fall. So here's to feeling fresh. Sometimes we get so
focused on fit (chuckles) that we end up with
back pain and stress and a depleted nervous system, and we don't feel fresh, we don't have the energy to
actually do any of the things that we set out to do, that we feel is our destiny. So thank you so
much for being patient, for being kind in your practice, and for committing to focusing and refocusing
on the power of the breath and our yoga practice
and in our fitness regimen. Remembering to
prioritize the inner body over the outer body. Not putting that
cart before the horse. Stay here as long as you like. We'll bring the
hands together overhead. Thumbs come up to the third eye. We'll take a deep breath in. (inhaling deeply) And just connecting to each
other and the big picture.
(exhaling deeply) By finishing our
practice with a deep breath in. (inhaling deeply) And a quiet whisper. Namaste. (exhaling deeply) (upbeat music).
