- Hello, everyone. Welcome to Breath, your 30 day yoga journey. I'm Adriene, this is Benji and it's Day 2, Arrive. Let's get started. (bright upbeat piano music) Alrighty my friend, welcome back. Come into a nice, comfortable seat. Maybe lift the hips up just a bit. Come on down to the ground. Take your time, always, as we settle into these practices. It's a really good idea to focus on your arrival from the get go. So the practice has already begun. It doesn't begin in Downward Dog or with your first ocean breath. The invitation today is to really see each time you come to the mat as a new beginning, and then within our practice to really celebrate and embrace this idea that with each breath, we have an opportunity to begin again, to arrive in the present moment. So, just a little food for thought. As we get settled in here, let's bring our left hand to the heart space and right hand to the belly. And if you like, close your eyes here or gently bring your gaze down diagonally past your nose. Just kind of softening your focus. All of us arriving here today to bring our attention inward. So there may be a lot going on outside of you and this mat, the room or the area of the earth that you're practicing in, but within this practice and with the breath we have this opportunity to go inward and to create an abundance of awareness for, or with rather, the inner world versus the outer world. So that's not necessarily something that happens magically the minute you hop on your yoga mat. So feel the warmth of your hands on your chest and your belly. Close your eyes, soften your gaze. And if you like, you can gently tuck the chin into the chest just lengthening through the back of the neck a bit. Creating a little reverent bow. We're cuing the brain. We're just kind of slowing things down as we arrive here today. As you're ready, draw your attention to your next breath. And see if you can make it a little longer. Breathing in through the nose and out through the nose here, observing the breath. Spine is nice and tall. Shoulders are relaxed. As you continue to gently deepen your breath, I invite you to mark each breath as a brand new arrival. Each time you cycle through to a new breath, see if you can treat it as a new arrival, whatever that means for you. You may notice that it's difficult to focus on your breath today. You may feel that you can just drop in to a really yummy, conscious breath right away. Know that each time you arrive it'll be different. So we are continuing with a bit of preparation and foundation by simply honoring the arrival with each new breath. And if this sounds kind of crazy to you, just hang with me. I have a feeling that this idea, if it doesn't have a place in your heart right now, it might find a place here throughout the practice or along the way. Let's take a deep breath in together now. Inhaling in through the nose. And exhaling out through the nose. And then slowly open the eyes, release the palms to rest gently on the tops of the thighs or the knees. And just take a second to notice how you feel. So we're gonna get moving here, but I'll leave it to you to keep kind of chewing on this idea of marking each new inhale, each new breath, as a new arrival. So it's going to feel different. And through training and through practice we'll be able to follow the breath through the whole cycle, making it a full conscious cycle of breath. Okay, but we'll unravel that together. So nice and easy dropping the chin to the chest. And then taking the nose for a couple of circles all the way up and around and down. Up and around and down. So we're not doing big eighties neck rolls here unless you like, but then you're responsible. But rather thinking of the neck as an extension of the spine. And I like to use the visual of the nose a lot, go ahead and reverse your circle, because it helps me keep the neck integrated in my postures. So you'll hear me say, "Push a little ball of yarn," or "Carve a line with the nose forward and up and back." Same thing here, drawing a line one way and then the other. And if you find a little catch or a little place where you feel like you want to work it out, find what feels good. Good, then we'll just shake the head a little no. Nice and slow. Don't be saying no, no, no, no, no. When it's really. Now we'll nod the head yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Alright. And finally resting the left ear over the left shoulder. Just allow the weight of your head to tilt here. We'll take the right fingertips, right hand over towards the side, fingertips are gonna kiss the earth. Inhale in. Exhale, press your pinky down. Good, then we'll lift the fingertips, flex the right hand as if you were pressing your right hand into a wall. And then we're gonna slowly slide the right fingertips up in line with the shoulder, hoo, hoo, hoo, and then all the way back down in line with the hip. That's a lot. Keep breathing. Inhale, slide the fingertips up. And exhale in line with the hip. Good, then let's let that go. Shake it out if you need to. And other side, right ear over right shoulder. Breathing. Left fingertips to the ground, Press the left pinky into the ground. Just kind of opening up through the armpit chest. And then here we go. Flexing the left hand. And breathing, breathing, breathing. As we begin to slide the left hand up in line with the left shoulder, woo. Breathe and then slowly lowering it down. Getting into the good stuff here. Sliding it out. And lowering it down. And one more time. Keep the fingers really spread here on the left hand. And lowering it down. Excellent. Bring the head over the heart, heart over the pelvis. Bring the palms to the knees. Take a deep breath in. And a long breath out. Good, we'll take the hands, we're gonna create kind of an L-shape in both hands here with the index finger and thumb and we're gonna bring that L-shape to the rib cage here. And then if you want, you can extend your fingers so you can kind of hold your rib cage here. Now, careful, if there's a lot of tension in the shoulders you might already be stuck here. So watch out for that. We're gonna drop the shoulders. Try to create a little bit of space here in the neck and shoulders. Alright, now with the hands here, use the hands here as a guide as you inhale, find that nice wide lateral breath. So we're inhaling, feeling, literally feeling the rib cage expand. And exhale to soften and feel it draw inward. Good. Inhale, it draws out. It expands. Just play here. And exhale, it softens in. And one more time. This is a workshop for you so get in there. Here we go. Inhale, workshop this wide lateral breath. All four sides of the torso, expanding, getting big, big, big. And then exhale, softening. Beautiful. Let's keep playing. Let's keep exploring. Let's come forward. Arrive on all fours. Each time we come into a new beat, a new shape of the physical practice too, we have an opportunity to begin again, to greet it and meet it and find something new. So here we go. Spinal flexion, drop the belly, inhale nice and slow. Cow Pose. And exhale, Cat Pose. Rounding through chin to chest, claw through the fingertips, breathe out. Good, inhale, drop the belly. Lots of space between the ears and shoulders. press into the tops of the feet. And exhale, smooth and steady clawing through the fingertips. Pressing through the toes. Navel draws up, up, up. One more time. Inhale. Cow Pose. Opening up through the front of the neck. And exhale, really exaggerate this one. Claw through the fingertips, draw the chin into the chest. Press into the tops of the feet. Lovely, inhale, Tabletop Position, check it out. You're gonna press into both palms evenly. We're gonna hug the lower ribs in so you have a slight connection to your core. Stay really connected to your left foot. We're gonna inhale, curl the right toes under, send it out, extend through that right leg. And then without dumping all of your weight into the left side of the body, lift your right heel, your right leg up towards the sky, keep your right toes, especially that pinky toe, dialed down. Good, now open the toes all the way to the right so the arch of the foot is facing towards the ground. And then dial them back in. And two more like that. Peek at me, always, if you need to. We're gonna turn the right toes out. And then dial 'em back down. And instead of just focusing on the toes, once you know kind of what you're doing, bring your attention to that hip socket, that right hip socket opening. And then rolling inward. And this time when you're rolling inward go ahead and stay here. We're waking up through the muscles of the legs, the glutes. Building the glute muscle up here. Soft bend in the elbows. You're here for three, two. On the one, lift your right heel a little bit higher. And then exhale, bring everything in, nose to knee. Rounding through the spine. Squeeze and lift. And then relax the right knee back down and reset. Arrive again, nice neutral spine. Alright, same thing on the other side. So establish all fours, right? Nice and steady. Then try to maintain that. Careful not to dump all your weight into the right side as you curl the left toes under, send that left leg out. Good, neck is nice and long here. Again, you can peek at me anytime, but we're not dropping in the neck here. We're keeping that nice, beautiful awareness from crown to tail. Okay, inhale in as you're ready. Exhale, hug onto the midline. So stay centered here. Pressing into your left palm as much as you are your right. As we lift the left heel up, dial the left toes towards the ground. Excellent, just check it out here. This is so important for all of these standing poses. Even the Warriors, man. Not just balancing on one foot. Finding your rib cage and drawing it up and in. Here we go, turning the toes now towards the left, opening up. And then dialing them back down. And now opening it up. Nice and slow. And dialing it back down. We are building strength everywhere here. Opening it up, last one. And dialing it back down. Stay here. Lift the left inner thigh towards the sky. Nice and steady here. Working to level the hips. Inhale in, lift the left heel a little higher. You're doing great! Then exhale, slow and steady. Bring it all in, knee to nose, arching through the spine. And then releasing it, left knee to the ground. Let's get you off the wrists here. Let's curl the toes, under walk the hands back. Sit back on the heels. Slowly come all the way up. Head over heart, heart over pelvis. You can interlace the fingertips here and then take it for a little infinity. So a little figure eight. Good for the brain too. Alright, release that. A couple of circles more if you need them. And then we're gonna come to Downward Facing Dog. So take your time. Spread the fingertips, curl the toes under. Follow your breath. Inhale in. Follow it through to the exhale. Let that be what brings the hips up high and back, head down. Heart above the head here. So you got to bring the breath to really bring the benefits of this work is so amazing when we allow our practice to be led by the breath. Wow, so healing. And after you've taken a couple of breaths here in Downward Facing Dog, go ahead and walk it all the way up to the front of the mat. Nice and slow, nice and slow. Feet hip width apart in a standing Forward Fold. Just take a couple breaths here to notice how you feel today. Maybe shake the head again, a little yes, a little no. Rock a little side to side. And if you're coming with any stress (laughs) or any tension, any worry, anxiety, take a second here to hang and maybe choose to allow the weight that you're carrying on your shoulders to slip off just a bit here and allow your next inhale truly to be an arrival in the present moment. Then notice what that did. For me, it was like I just released all of this tightness in my low back. Let's take one more breath here. Sweet, then when you feel ready to go ahead and roll it up, nice and slow. We'll meet in Mountain Pose. And now here again, my darling, you have an opportunity in Mountain Pose with a new breath to mark this a new arrival. Notice how you feel. Lift your heart. Ground through your heels. And let's move. Inhale, reaching the fingertips up towards the sky. Exhale, bend the knees. Float it down, soft fingers. How about it? Inhale, halfway lift, follow your breath. And then exhale, soften and fold. From here, bend the knees, plant the palms, step one foot back, then the other. Benji's like "Plank Pose, I'm out." (laughs) "I'm up and out." In Plank Pose, we're going to reach the heels back, crown forward, claw through the fingertips. Feel free to drop the knees here, but keep your core engaged by hugging the lower ribs in. Everyone keep that neck nice and long. Inhale in here. Exhale, slowly lower all the way to the belly. Follow your breath. Inhale, lift it up. Just a small Cobra here. Exhale to release. Inhale to all fours or Plank Pose. Nice and strong. And then exhale, empty it all out, Downward Facing Dog. Good. Press into both palms evenly. Anchor through the left heel. Hug your low ribs in. Inhale deeply as you slowly slide the right leg all the way up, right heel up and dial the toes down. So just once here, go ahead and open to one side so you can kind of feel the hip stacking and then dial it back down so you can bring that right hip and the right glute in line with your left hip, left glute. We're building strength. You're doing great. Inhale, lift the right heel a little higher. Exhale, bring it all the way through. Keep reaching the left heel back, nose to knee here. Upper body's in Plank. Awesome! Then step the right foot all the way up. Lower the left knee down. And on your next inhale, sweep the arms all the way forward, up and back. Big breath, big stretch. Good, then exhale, paint a wall with the palms. Just a little relief for the wrists all the way down. Good, pull the right hip crease back. Inhale to look forward. Flex your right foot. And then exhale, bow the chin in towards the chest, bow the head. Then roll it through nice and easy. Plant the left palm. We're gonna lift the back knee, as we inhale, reach the right fingertips all the way up. The new arrival here. And then exhale all the way back down. Plant the palms, step the right toes back, Plank Pose or Half Plank. Inhale in to shift forward, look forward. This time nice and slow, exhale, squeeze the elbows into the side body as long as possible as you slowly lower down. Good, inhale, Cobra. Follow your breath. Exhale, slowly bring the forehead down. Inhale to all fours or Plank, your choice. And exhale, hips up high and back in Downward Facing Dog. So we're working to take the pressure out of the wrists here by really rooting through the knuckles, clawing through the fingertips and then connecting with that midline, that core line, that plumb line here, even in a Downward Facing Dog. Okay, anchor through the right heel. Inhale, lift the left leg up nice and high. Take a second here to open up, stack the hips just so you can feel that. And then dial the left toes back in, working to level the hips. This may be very challenging and takes a lot of integrity at first, but through practice you'll find it. And this recognition of core and midline, balancing the body, will create a more stable practice for you to grow on. Alright, here we go. Inhale, lift the left heel. Exhale, shift it forward. Building strength, squeeze. Right heel's reaching back. Nose to knee here. Lift, lift, lift. And then step up left foot all the way up. Awesome work. Lower the right knee down. On your next breath in, follow the inhale. Sweep the arms forward, up and back. Front knee over front ankle. Beautiful. Big breath, big stretch. Lift your heart. Open up and then exhale. Paint a wall here with your palms. A little relief for the wrists as you slowly come all the way back. Gorgeous. Pull the left hip crease back. Flex the left toes, towards the face. Inhale, catch a little wave with the breath. Look forward. Exhale, bow inward. Good, roll through the left heel nice and slow. Then we're gonna try to do these two things at once. Right hand on the earth as we lift the left knee, the left fingertips go all the way up towards the sky. Big twist. Inhale in. Breathe into all four sides of the torso. So good for you. And exhale, slowly bring it back down. Plant the palms. Step the left toes back. Inhale in here in Plank. And so with each inhale, we mark a new arrival. Give your thinking mind a break and use that inhale as an opportunity to enter the present moment. Just one present moment after the other. We're building strength here. We're gonna be here for 30 more seconds and then we're gonna come onto our backs and relax. So you can stay here or for this last 15 seconds we might do some mindful Mountain climbers. So just nice, slow pace here. Of course, you can always speed it up if you're craving fire on any given day. Nice, slow climbing. Hugging the knee into the chest but we're not bringing the nose to knee on these. We're keeping the neck nice and long. Keep it going. Could just be in a Half Plank with the knees on the ground or nice steady Plank taking breaks when you need to. You're doing great. Alright, even it out. And release, bring the knees down. Swing the legs to one side, any side. Come all the way through to a seat. Alright, we're gonna set our legs out in front. If you want to grab your blanket to lift the hips up here, this would be a good time. Feet are hip width apart. Flex the feet, bend the knees slightly. Inhale, reach the fingertips behind the ears and then all the way up towards the sky. And then exhale, think up and over. So draw your navel in and up. We call this Uddiyana Bandha. In and up as you slowly reach towards the shins, the ankles or maybe the feet or toes. Then inhale to look forward wherever you are. And exhale to fold in. Maybe work to straighten the legs in time. Maybe not. Close your eyes and yep, you guessed it. Arrive with a new breath. Take three cycles of breath here and see again if you can mark each cycle anew. So you follow, you're training your brain to follow through with the breath consciously. To the next breath and to the next breath. Relaxing the weight of the head over. And then slowly releasing, drawing the chin to the chest and rolling back up. Awesome work. So following the breath through, it seems so simple, but can actually be quite difficult to follow through. So we'll be introducing some like breath ratio later on that will help you practice that. But just to get an idea, treat each new breath as a new arrival. It reminds me of that beautiful poem by Rumi, "The Guest House". Okay, so here we go. Let's come onto our backs. Right away, hug the knees into the chest. Rock a little side to side. And then continuing with a little balancing of left and right side of the body, let's extend the left leg out as you maintain the hugging in of the right knee. (chuckles) I just had to center myself a little bit on my mat. And then inhale in. Exhale, contract the navel in towards the spine as you slowly peel the head up. Now the nose can come toward the knee, but it's really, it's not about kind of reaching that goal. It's about giving the spine that love here, the space, engaging the core. If you want to challenge yourself, you can lift the left heel, let it hover just a bit. Shoulders are relaxed. Skin of the face is relaxed. My feet are engaged. Ooh yeah, waking up those little intercostals, especially in the low belly as I lift my left heel. Scooping, finding that kind of hollow front body. And inhaling in here and then exhaling to release. Listen carefully, I'm gonna take this right knee and I'm gonna cross this baby all the way over towards the left side, move my hips to the right side so I can accentuate that, and then hallelu, I'm gonna send my right fingertips all the way out and maybe turn on my right ear so that I can take my next brand new, beautiful breath here in this supine twist. Nice Reclined Twist. Breathe into your belly. Take one more enjoyable breath. Big stretch here in the right armpit chest. And the right pec. And then slowly follow your exhale. Bring it back. Center yourself on the mat, hug both knees into the chest. And then maintain the squeezing in of the left knee as you extend the right leg out along. Keep the shoulders relaxed. Inhale in. Exhale, sharp exhale to really feel that connection maybe of the navel drawing in. We'll work on this more later, but just connecting that contraction, and that's what brings the nose up towards the left knee. Again, it doesn't have to touch. Just creating more length in the spine. Thoracic spine and the upper back as well. Breathing here, shoulders relaxed. Option to lift the right heel, let it hover. When you do, find that hollow body. Feel the low belly get engaged here. We're breathing steadily. Nice. And then slowly release right heel to the ground. Head comes down and we're gonna guide the right knee now over towards the right. I might shift my hips over towards the left and find my twist on either side, extending the left fingertips out. And maybe turning onto the left ear here. Close your eyes. Soften through your jaw. And breathe, breathe, breathe. Noticing the sensation with each inhale. And each exhale. So much opportunity. So much opportunity with each inhalation, with each exhalation. You start to get really fascinated and curious about all that you can discover within the cycle of a breath in your yoga practice. Take one more delicious, yummy breath in. (chuckles) Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Certainly evokes a feeling, and then exhale. Let it guide you back. Alright, check it out. Center yourself on the mat. And then you're gonna hug the knees up to the chest but you're gonna bring the palms to the kneecaps. And then we're gonna open them wide. And then we're gonna bring them in and around and then squeeze 'em in. Open 'em wide and around and in. And then reverse the circle out. Just neutralizing the spine a little bit. Around and in. Careful not to clench the jaw here. Out, around and in. And one more time. Awesome. Then flex the feet. Point the toes and then relax the feet. And allow them to drop down to the earth. Good, extend one leg. And then the other. You can use your blanket or your towel here. I don't think I mentioned this yesterday, but you can always use your blanket underneath the knees here. Kind of nice for the low back. Give you a little prop for relaxation. And we're gonna allow the hands to rest gently, palms face up here as we close out today's practice. Take a second to notice how you feel. And close your eyes. And just let the breath return to its natural rhythm. So you can remain aware of the rhythm, but there's this allowing, just kind of allowing, the breath to flow here naturally. Relaxing the weight of your body completely and fully into the earth and giving thanks for this time that you've carved out for yourself to connect with your body. Honoring your breath. And embrace this idea that with each new breath we arrive. Take one more moment here to rest your heart. And then inhale deeply with me. And as you exhale, sigh it out, just a little ahh. Again, inhale deeply all of us together around the world. What's up? The exhale to sigh it out, ahh. Good, lift one knee. Then the other. We'll turn into one side and really come into a fetal position. Really hike those knees up towards your heart. Rest your head. And take a second to just contemplate, meditate, today's theme. I hope that you can take this invitation, and today's focus with you off the mat into the rest of your day or night, and we'll definitely bring it back into play for tomorrow's practice. Knowing that the hardest part is showing up. So really celebrating, committing to the arrival. Feels good. Press into one palm and then the other. We'll rise back up. We'll bring the palms together at the heart space to close out the practice. So each practice will be very different. No doubt, almost every time you consider showing up on the mat, you might have a moment where you think you may not show up. So remember that that is sometimes the hardest part. And we can remember all we have to do is breathe in these practices. So arrive, show up and then see what happens. The rest will just unfold but you have to arrive with each new breath. Thank you so much for sharing your time and energy with me and with everyone who's practicing BREATH. Inhale in deeply. And exhale to bow the head. We'll finish by whispering Namaste. (bright upbeat piano music)