- What's up, party people?

Welcome to BREATH,
your 30 day yoga journey.

It's Day 21,

Control.

Let's get started.

(bright upbeat piano music)

Alrighty, my darling friend.

Let's come on
down to the ground,

and you can choose today

a nice, comfortable
seat of your choice,

maybe cross-legged 
or on the knees,

or you can even
start this practice today

lying down on your back.

We're gonna take a second
to just tune into the breath

by bringing the
right hand to the belly,

and the left hand
to the heart space,

the center, heart center,
center of the chest. (chuckles)

Alright, let's all 
close our eyes,

and myself included,
just allow our energy,

whatever you're bringing
to practice today, to settle.

Start to bring your attention
from the world around you.

Start to bring your
attention closer inward.

Inviting your
inner world to rest

as you slowly and
gently deepen your breath.

As you begin to
listen to the sweet song

of your inhalations
and your exhalations,

you might begin to
play with a little pause,

or a little moment of retention,
Kumbhaka in between.

Garnering a deeper 
relationship with

breath control.

But also, there's an
invitation today, a big one,

to think of

not what we're doing,
but how you're doing it.

And I've said this to many
friends in the community before.

What is that like to
focus on how we're moving,

how we move in
and out of something

and how we exist
inside something,

versus just
paying attention to

the what, kind of 
checking that box?

In this community, we often

say that how you move matters.

Both on the mat and off.

So we're not only playing
or considering breath control,

but the big invitation
today is also think about

quality of movement,
this quality control.

In the same way that you
have to bring the breath,

you have to bring the awareness

of how you're doing something,

and you get to
design how many layers.

You get to pay
attention to the details or not.

You get to decide the flavor.

Mmm, okay.

Bat the eyelashes open,

and let's put it
all into practice here.

We'll slowly come
up from lying down,

seated, or
kneeling to all fours.

If you need to
shake the toes out,

or rotate the wrist one way
and then the other, you can.

Then we're gonna
come to all fours.

Jump right in,
inhaling to drop the belly.

Open the chest, look forward.

And exhaling to round the spine.

Now soften your gaze,
close your eyes,

and listen to the music,
the heart song.

Listen to your breath

as you start to move
here in spinal flexion.

And you can start to
veer off the railroad tracks,

again focusing on the
quality of the movement,

and really listening,
and responding,

letting that
affect how you feel,

of course, in the gestures.

And maybe turning
the fingertips in,

finding those circles
one way, and then the other.

Maybe releasing that,
bumping the hips left to right.

You might come
forward all the way to Cobra,

or you might curl the toes under

and send the hips
back to stretch the feet.

Eventually, we'll
walk the knees wide,

and we'll come 
to Extended Child's Pose,

melting the heart down.

Inhale in, focusing now on
the quality of your breath.

Quality control.

Lifting the elbows,
reaching the fingertips forward.

Now we're gonna go
in a circular motion,

so inhale, take the
shoulders and heart to the left.

Come all the way forward,
look forward.

Exhale around to the right,

and back down through
Extended Child's Pose.

Now keep it going,
inhale to come forward and up.

And exhale around and back.

Now reverse the circle.

And the next time you come back,

take a second here, breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in, heart lifts up, 
move from center.

Walk the knees
underneath the hip points,

curl the toes under,
send the hips up high,

and back, Downward Facing Dog.

Take a couple of
breath cycles here.

Find what feels good,

focusing on the quality of 
movement, the quality of breath.

Nice, slow, steady gestures.

Really mindful.

Eventually, we'll walk
the feet all the way up

to standing at
the top of the mat.

Nice Forward Fold here

as you shake the
head a little yes and no.

And then when you're ready,
slow and steady,

ground through the feet

and begin to roll it
up to Mountain Pose.

Lift your heart, and even here,

coming into your best
and most beautiful Mountain.

So I guess when
considering quality control,

it's also about
the kind of attitude

and energy you bring to it,

and your willingness
to let things transform.

So nobody expects you to
show up on the mat with like,

this perfect, positive
attitude all the time,

but how willing are you to
kind of allow things to shift,

and move, and transform,
instead of it being very fixed?

Inhale, reach for the sky.

Exhale, enjoy this move,
floating it down, Forward Fold.

Inhale, lifts you up halfway.

Lengthen, aka Benji view for me,

and then slowly
Forward Fold back inward.

Good, bend the
knees plant the palms,

step one foot back,
then the other, Plank Pose.

So even here in the 
more difficult shapes,

quality control, can you press
away from the yoga mat,

take pressure
out of the wrist,

claw through the knuckles,
fingertips reach the heels back?

Inhale in.

Exhale, lower all
the way to the belly.

Inhale, Cobra.

Exhale to release.

Curl the toes under,
press up to Plank,

send it back to
Downward Facing Dog,

and right away, anchor
the left heel, inhale,

lift the right leg up,
Three-Legged Dog,

bend your right knee, and
start to take your right knee

in big circles one way,
and then the other.

Listen to your breath.

Remember, quality control.

What does that look like,
what does that feel like?

How can we
really put our energy,

focusing on the how,
not just the what?

Good. Then the next time
that knee comes around,

swing it all the
way up and through.

Step it forward into
your nice, low lunge.

Go ahead and
lower that back knee.

Inhale, sweep the arms
all the way up and overhead.

Deep breath in here.

Exhale to bring it
all the way back down.

Plant the palms, step the
right foot back, Plank Pose.

Inhale, look forward,
shift forward.

Exhale, lower to the belly.

Inhale for Cobra.

Relax those shoulders 
away from the ears.

Lots of space.

Exhale to release.

Press up to all fours or Plank.

Send it to Downward Dog.

Anchor the right heel, inhale,
lift the left leg up high.

Bend your left knee, start
to move, big circular motion.

See if you can press
into both palms evenly.

Hug the low ribs in.

Pay attention to the detail,
you got this.

Reversing the circle.

Quality control.

Captivates the party patrol,
mind, body, and soul.

Step it all the way up.

Low lunge, 
your right knee comes down.

Big breath.

Nice and easy.

Fingertips sweep all the way up.

Inhale in here.

Exhale to slowly
bring it back down.

Curl the back toes under,
step the left toes back,

inhale in, shift forward.

Exhale, lower down belly.

Inhale, Cobra.

Exhale, Downward Facing Dog.

Alright, inhale, 
lift the right leg up high.

Exhale, step it forward,
repetition here.

Find something new.

Inhale, sweep the
arms up and overhead.

Exhale, fingertips come down.

Lift the back knee, step
it back, Plank or Half Plank.

Inhale, look forward,
shift forward.

Exhale, lower to the belly.

Inhale, Cobra.
Find a sweetness.

Exhale, sway it down.

Inhale to all fours or Plank.

Exhale, Downward Facing Dog.

On your next breath in,
lift the left leg up high.

Exhale, shift it forward.

Lower the right knee.

Here we go, big inhale
to sweep the fingertips up.

Reach, reach, reach, and
exhale all the way back down.

Lift the back knee, step
the left toes back, inhale,

look forward, shift forward.

Exhale, lower to the belly.

Inhale, press into
the tops of the feet

as you lift your
heart for Cobra.

Exhale, release.

Curl the toes under,
all fours or Plank,

and then to Downward Facing Dog.

Inhale in deeply here.

And exhale 
Lion's Breath, tongue out.

Good, here we go again.

Inhale, lift the left
leg up high, nice and easy.

Find the softness.

Exhale, step it forward.

Lower the left knee.

See if we can smooth out the
hard edges here as you inhale,

sweep the arms all
the way up and overhead.

This time the palms
are gonna come together,

and then we're gonna
bring them down and around

to find a twist.

Left elbow comes to the
outer edge of the right thigh.

Keep the back
knee lowered for now.

Start to twist here,
nice and easy.

Gently, gently
inhaling to lengthen,

and exhaling to
explore the twist.

Stay here.

Totally, stay here.

If you're wanting a
little more fire today,

curl the back toes under,
and lift the back knee,

lifting from your center.

Great. If you wanna open 
up the arms here, you can.

Take one more cycle of breath.

And then slowly
release back to your lunge.

Step the right toes back,
go straight to Downward Dog,

or take a little vinyasa here,

belly to Cobra or
Chaturanga to Up Dog,

and we'll meet in
Downward Facing Dog.

Inhale in deeply.

Nice cleansing breath,
tongue out.

Good. Anchor the right heel,

inhale, lift the 
left leg up high.

Exhale, shift it forward.

Coming into your lunge.

Back knee lowers.

Find the grace.

Inhale, sweep the arms
all the way up and overhead.

Exhale.

Palms come together and over
towards the left for our twist.

Outer edge of the right arm

is gonna come to the
outer edge of the left thigh.

Breathe, inhale to lengthen.

Exhale to twist.

Front knee over front ankle.

And maybe we stay here,

or we use all of the vocabulary
we've learned thus far

to find a supportive
lift in the back leg.

Just play.

Maybe open up the arms
for one cycle of breath.

Inhaling in deeply.

And exhaling to release.

Come on back to the lunge,
step it back.

Last time.

Plank, shift forward,
belly to Cobra,

or Chaturanga to
Upward Facing Dog.

Downward Facing Dog.

Inhale in.

Exhale, let something go.

Bend the knees,
inhale to look forward.

Exhale to make
your way to the top.

Then inhale to lift halfway,
your version,

and exhale to fold.

Good. Root to rise here, 
inhale, reach for the sky.

Spread the fingertips,
capture a little magic,

a little something overhead,

and then slowly,
as you breathe out,

bring the palms down the midline,
hands to heart space.

Close your eyes here,
relax the shoulders.

Just observe the breath.

Then release the left arm down.

Focus on how you do that, even.

And the right arm down.

Beautiful.

And then we'll step to
the center of the mat.

Don't look down if
you don't need to.

You know the ground's there.

So it's interesting, it's like,

even just how we
bring the arms down,

how we bring the palms together,

often in my live classes,
we spend a lot of time

focusing on just
those small gestures,

how we do them,
how we move matters.

Alright.

And that's why I wore

my find what feels good
constellation shirt today,

because for me,
find what feels good

is about really being present

with what is in
every given moment,

so not trying to copy or emulate

somebody else's
doing or experience,

but really being
present for your own,

which changes
every single day, right?

Walk the feet a little bit wide,
if you haven't already.

You probably know what's coming

if you've practiced 
with me before.

We've done this as a
crew though, already.

So we're gonna do a little
knocking on heaven's door.

And do not skip this, right?

We committed to this together,
let's give it a go.

So you're gonna make sure

you're not locked
out on the knees,

we don't want to
torque the knees here.

Soft knees, and I think
even a little bit of softness

in the feet for this one, right?

You focus on the how.

We're gonna start to swing
the arms a little, side to side,

and you're gonna start to
smack that booty, (chuckles)

lifting and lengthening up
through the crown of the head,

so keeping the
spine nice and long.

If you feel
embarrassed or silly,

chances are the chest, right,

this is gonna start to happen,
it's gonna start to collapse.

So, do you trust me?

Lift your chest, lift your heart,
and start to get into it.

And start to match up
with a little bit of breath.

So rather than
tell you what to do,

I'm gonna let you discover, 
just, maybe you breathe.

Inhale to one side,
exhale to one side.

Maybe it's just your
awareness of breath.

Just start to listen
a little more intently.

It's okay to laugh.

It's okay to
make fun of me here,

but I encourage
you to give it a try.

Here we go.
Picking up the pace.

If you took a break, or
if you had to take a second,

come back in now,
moving side to side.

So good, massaging
the internal organs.

Working to create a
healthy flow of energy

that runs throughout 
your whole body.

Syncing up with the
breath to boost immune function.

And maybe even
smiling or laughing a bit,

a bit of soul medicine.

We're here for ten, 
ooh, nine, feels good.

Eight, seven, six.

Five, stick with it.

Four, three, two.

On the one, ground your feet,
send your fingertips down.

Feel, listen.

Notice.

Then ground through all
four corners of the feet,

lift up from the pelvic floor,
so body's engaged, alive.

And focus on not what we're
doing here, which is inhaling,

reaching fingertips to
the sky, but focus on the how.

Here we go, inhale.

Get into it.

Gift yourself with your own 
beautiful, precious presence.

Exhale, float
the fingertips down.

Take up space, inhale, reach.

Slow exhale, slow movement,
all the way down.

Last one, inhale,
reach all the way up.

Look up, palms come together, 
exhale, hands to heart.

Do not look down.

That ground is there for you.

See feelingly,
walk the feet together.

Stand tall.

Inhale, lots of love in.

Relax the shoulders.

Exhale, lots of love out.

Thank you so much

for sharing your time
and energy with me today.

If you'd like to
come to the ground,

you can spend some
moments in stillness,

or seated, or lying down.

Otherwise, you can
step off your mat,

and see if you
can focus on the how,

the quality of movement
and the quality of breath

that you're taking with you,
in and out of each gesture,

using it to really stay present.

It's fun to find 
just that quality

in the mundane,

as well as on the mat.

Okay, I love you guys.

Inhale, one last time.

And exhale to close this ritual.

And whisper

Namaste.

(bright upbeat piano music)