- Hello, everyone.

Welcome to BREATH,
your 30 day yoga journey.

I'm Adriene, this is Benji,

and it's Day 3, baby, Anchor.

Let's get started.

(bright upbeat piano music)

Alright, let's begin today,

yep, you guessed it, 
in a nice comfortable seat.

Take a second to get settled in,

maybe sit up on a blanket,
or a towel, or a block.

Whatever you're coming
to the mat with today,

know that it is welcome.

This is a come as
you are activity.

I just wanna remind you

as we get settled in here,

hardest part is
showing up, and we are here.

And we've already begun.

Relax your shoulders.

Lengthen up through
the tip-top of your heads.

So find length in the spine.

Just take it nice and
easy as we ease in here,

closing the eyes,

and bringing our
attention to the breath.

Guiding our awareness

to the breath.

Hands resting gently on the
tops of the thighs, or the knees.

Palms face down, or face up,
if that's your vibe today.

Listen to your body respond.

Again closing the eyes here.

If you don't feel
comfortable closing the eyes,

softening the gaze
down gently past your nose.

Just inviting your focus,

your attention

to soften inward
toward your breath.

Now you may begin to
notice the mind wandering,

the thoughts

popping up like little bubbles,

little messages, big messages.

Maybe thoughts about whether
or not you have the energy

to do this practice,
or this whole journey.

Maybe thoughts or concerns

about tasks for the day.

Or maybe feelings, emotions from

past occurrences.

These are all welcome

and perfectly okay.

I'm careful when 
I use the word normal

but I think it's
appropriate here.

This is all very normal.

Busy thinking mind.

Thoughts in the past 
and in the future.

Today's session will really

anchor the thoughts 
and the minds,

or it will begin the practice of

anchoring the thoughts and
your mind in the present.

So all I ask is that you
stay open to that practice,

open to that idea.

Draw the hands together at
the heart, prayer position.

Draw your chin
down into your chest.

And if you like, 
you can set a little intention

for yourself here, 
something personal,

something private,

something that will 
serve you on this journey.

If nothing comes up,

just start to slow 
your breath down.

And at the very 
least here, starting to

get a nice stretch in
the back of the neck.

Training the core muscles

to help you sit up
nice and tall here.

And continuing to
relax the shoulders,

as they may have
been trained unconsciously

to grip up towards the ears.

Let's get ready to take
a big breath in together.

Here we go, inhale
in through the nose.

Exhale out through
the nose or mouth.

Good, and then let's
inhale to open the eyes,

lift the head, lift the chin,

and release the
hands gently to your legs.

So to anchor in the breath,

we're gonna learn a
breath technique today

called Ujjayi Breath.

Many of you may 
already be familiar with this

Ocean Breath, 
as we like to call it.

Sounds like the
waves of the ocean.

It can also sound a
little bit like Darth Vader.

It's a bit of a dark thought,
but a kind of fun one.

And it, I feel
like it's a good image.

We also call this
Victorious Breath, which I love.

So, we'll take one hand and
put it in front of the mouth.

Take a deep breath in.

And exhale out
through the mouth,

onto the hand so
that you can feel

the warmth of your breath.
Just give it a try.

One more time, big inhale.

Awesome, so now we
can let the hand go.

Let's do one more like
that without the hand.

Inhale in through the nose.

Exhale out through the
mouth with the ha sound, ha.

And this is like
you're fogging up a window

to write yourself, or a
loved one, a little note.

Good, now we're 
gonna do the same thing,

but we're gonna seal the lips.

So we're gonna create
that soft hissing sound

by creating a soft,

little constriction in
the back of the throat.

So we'll inhale
in through the nose.

Same thing, but now with
the lips sealed, give it a try.

Try again, inhale in.

And exhale.

And if you're brand new to this,

and you wanna
just listen to mine,

I'll give you
one big inhale here.

And exhale.

Ocean Breath, Ujjayi Breath.

A wonderful,
wonderful breath technique,

or pranayama technique to anchor
in the sound of the breath

which will help you
focus and concentrate

on sticking with your
breath through the practice,

especially during
the more challenging,

or difficult parts of practice,

or on a day where your
mind is in the future,

or maybe your
heart is in the past.

It helps you ground
in the present moment.

Don't feel like you have
to master this breath today

or in any of the following days.

It's just a tool
for us to play with.

If you really wanna nerd
out and go a little deeper,

you can check out Foundations
video on Ujjayi Breath.

But for now, 
let's just play with it.

Here we go, inhaling
in through the nose.

Finding that ocean
sound as you breathe out.

Lips are sealed.

Now close your eyes for a
couple rounds, inhaling in.

And exhaling out.

And do one more,
just on your own.

I won't cue you, just following
the wave of your breath.

And then we'll use this,
as we build our practice.

I love the image of bring
the concha shell to your ear,

and kind of
hearing that ah sound.

And that might be
good for you, as well.

Alright, so let's
come onto all fours.

Let's start to wake
up through the spine

and layer on that Ujjayi Breath,
just best you can,

playing with it.

If it's not working
for you today, of course,

you can leave it behind,
pick it back up.

Just play with it as you go,

it's there to serve you,
not to hinder you.

Although if it's brand new,

it might take some
getting used to, okay?

Just a reminder, right?
This time is for you.

You've carved it out to be
with yourself, you've showed up.

As long as we're breathin',
I think we're doing great.

Here we go, drop the belly,
let's give it a try.

Inhaling for Cow Pose.

Press into the finger tips,
exhaling for Cat Pose.

With that Ocean Breath, 
inhaling, dropping the belly.

And exhaling, rounding through.

Continue.

And when you're ready,

continue with your Ocean Breath.

We're gonna just bump the
hips a little left to right.

Going into little
freestyle motion here.

Maybe turning the head to
one side, and then the other.

And if there's any
other soft easy movement

you might find here,

maybe doing a couple circles
with the rib cage one way,

and then the other.

A little improvisation 
here is welcome.

Find what feels good.

And then you're
gonna take your hands

and walk them forward.

Come all the way
onto your belly.

Drag the hands back a bit,
in line with your rib cage,

squeeze the elbows in,
press into the tops of the feet.

Drop your chin into your chest,

and then with that Ocean
Breath inhale up, Cobra.

Exhale Ocean Breath as
you bring it back down.

Good, twice more like that.
With the breath, inhale.

And exhale.

And once more.

Good.

Curl the toes under,
press back up to all fours.

So with this Ocean Breath,

we're really able to kind of see

how the fuel for the movement,

or the vinyasa,
can be the breath.

So that the gesture is 
as long as the inhale.

Maybe there's a pause there,

and then the gesture
is as long as the exhale.

Just something to play with.

And if you've been
practicing a long time,

this is actually
really great practice

to kind of get back in sync.

Maybe play with the extension

of your inhales
and your exhales.

Alright,
Downward Facing Dog, let's go.

This one's for you, Benji.

Oh sorry, didn't mean to
startle you there, buddy.

Alright, pedal it out.

Let's dedicate
this first Downward Dog

to your favorite dog.

Benji, just kidding. (laughs)

This can be like
your favorite actual dog,

or maybe you're
sending it to a friend,

it's more like a D-A-W-G.

All jokes aside, sending
some love and good energy,

a little dedication
out to those who need it.

People, or pets that you adore.

Just sending some
good loving energy

vibes out into the universe,

out into your community.

Does wonders for the soul.

Alright, after a bit 
of movement here,

find stillness.

Upper arm bones
are rotating out.

We're hugging the low ribs in,

so we feel the
abdominals kind of turn on here.

I'm not holding in the neck.

Soft and easy in the neck.

Clawing through the fingertips.

Inhale in.

Exhale, Ocean Breath.

Again inhale in.

Exhale, Ujjayi.

Good, on your next inhale,
bend the knees,

carve a line with the nose, 
look forward.

And exhale, 
step or hop your way

towards the top of your mat.

Feet hip width apart
or flush together now.

Your choice, just nice,
conscious footing,

toes pointing forward.

Bend your knees
generously when you land here.

Shake the head 
a little yes, a little no.

Good, then today we're
gonna walk the fingertips,

or the hands, over towards
the right side of your mat.

If the fingertips are
not touching the ground,

then you're gonna
hang like a ragdoll here,

and it's gonna be awesome.

If they are touching the ground,

then you can kind of use them

to really create a little resistance,
find a deeper stretch,

maybe in the left
low back, side waist.

Cool, then we'll slowly walk,

or swing the hands over
towards the other side.

Notice if your feet
have started to turn here,

if you can keep
the toes forward,

that might be good practice.

Relaxing through the neck,
finding a breath here.

So we don't have to
maintain that Ocean Breath

for every single
inhale and exhale

for this particular 
practice especially.

But keep coming back to it,
use it as your anchor.

Sweet, then release.

Inhale, lift up just halfway,
your version,

just find a little length,

follow that Ocean Breath,
here maybe.

And then exhale, follow it down.

Great, bend the knees,
tuck the chin,

and roll it nice and
slow up to Mountain Pose.

Ground through those feet.

Draw energy up from the arches,

stand up nice and tall.

Head over heart, 
heart over pelvis.

Lift your heart.

Find a little love, or pride,

just put some
feeling behind it here.

Mountain Pose, where
the tiptop of your head,

perhaps it's the
top of the Mountain.

The arms are the sides.

We're lifting up, feeling
this upward current of energy

through the front body,
grounding through the back body.

Alright, so I'm gonna
share a little mantra here.

And you can just listen to it,

or you can repeat it
quietly under your breath.

And if this is brand new to you,

I get that this
can be a little weird,

but it will be helpful, 
I think, for our journey here.

So the mantra is, 
"My breath is my anchor.

"My anchor is my breath."

And if you'd like
to repeat after me,

I'll say it again here.

My breath is my anchor.

My anchor is my breath.

Then one more time, maybe
you'd like to whisper it,

repeat it this time out loud.

My breath is my anchor.
My anchor is my breath.

Alright, let's flow, inhale.

Reach for the sky.

Exhale, float it down,
Forward Fold.

Lead with your breath, inhale.

Halfway lift.

Nice long neck,
flat back position.

Exhale, soften and fold back in.

Good, inhale,
fingertips come to the mat.

We're gonna step
just the right foot back,

just the right foot.

Lower the right
knee down and inhale.

Sweep the arms
forward up and and back.

Big inhale, big breath.
Big stretch.

And exhale.

Slow and steady,
all the way back down.

Beautiful.

Pull the left hip crease back,
flex the left toes,

inhale, look forward.

Exhale, roll onto
that left foot,

come back to
your nice low lunge.

Plant the right palm, inhale.

Optional to pick
that back knee up.

Left fingertips 
reach towards the sky.

Big twist here, big breath.

And use your exhale to guide it

all the way back to your lunge.

Frame your left
foot with your hands,

and then step that left
foot back to Plank Pose.

Feel free to lower
the knees for Half Plank.

Good, inhale to look forward,

shift the heart
slightly forward.

Then exhale, 
lower all the way to the belly.

We got this, inhale
with that Ujjayi Breath.

Cobra, lift it up.

Exhale, soften and
fold it back down.

Good, inhale, press up
to Plank, or all fours.

And exhale, hips up high
and back, Downward Facing Dog.

Send some love out, 
send a little dedication out.

Send some good
energy out, out, out.

Inhaling lots of love in.

Exhaling lots of love out.

Good, from here, step the
right foot all the way up

into your nice lunge,
lower the back knee.

Inhale, sweep the
arms forward up and back.

Big breath here,
nice wide breath

into all four
sides of the torso.

And then exhale,
float it back down.

Good, pull the
right hip crease back,

flex your right toes.

Inhale to look forward,
find length in the spine.

Then exhale, 
roll through that right foot.

Front knee over front ankle.

Left hand to the earth,
not crashing into that wrist.

Optional to lift the
back knee, or keep it lowered.

Here we go, inhale,
right fingertips to the sky,

big breath.

And exhale guides you back down.

Frame the right
foot with the hands.

Then step that right foot back.

Now draw your navel
up to your spine here,

in Plank or Half Plank.

Take a round of Ujjayi Breath.

Upper arm bones
are rotating out.

So your elbow
creases are shining forward,

fingertips are spread.

If the knees are lifted,

we're really
reaching the heels back,

engaging the quads
and the low belly muscles.

And everyone is keeping
that nice, long beautiful neck.

We're here for three, 
if you're shaking, I'm with you.

Two, one, shift the heart forward,
gaze forward just a bit.

Slowly lower onto the belly.

With your inhale,
rise up, Cobra.

Exhale, release.

Inhale to Plank or all fours.

And exhale, hips up high and 
back Downward Facing Dog.

Beautiful, on your next inhale,

try it with the Ocean Breath.

Lift the right leg up
for Three-Legged Dog.

Turn the toes down,
work to level the hips.

Press into both palms evenly.

Hug the low ribs in,
engage the core muscles,

you're doing great.

Good, now inhale, lift the
right leg a little higher.

Exhale, knee to nose,

squeeze and lift, and
then step that right foot

all the way up
into your nice lunge.

This time we're gonna
pivot on the back foot.

Peek at me if you need to.

Left toes are pointing towards

the front left corner of my mat,

or the front left
corner of your room.

Front knee stays bent,

we're gonna draw the
hands to the waistline.

Carve a line with the nose,
forward, up and back,

let your head and
your heart lift you up.

Now work to lengthen
the tailbone down a bit.

Draw the navel in. 
So we're nice and centered.

And then send the
fingertips forward,

up and back for Warrior I.

Nice, wide position in the arms,
in the shoulders here,

so, thumbs back, pinkies forward.

Imagine you're
holding a big beach ball.

Good.

Pull the right hip crease back.

Press into the outer
edge of your left foot.

Think about engaging, if you 
can, your left inner thigh.

Sometimes I like to
even give it a little pat.

Just like, "Wake
up left inner thigh."

Okay, Warrior I, inhale, 
maybe you look up here.

Exhale Warrior II, we're gonna
widen the stance just a bit.

Back toes are still turned in.

Send the left fingertips back,

right tinger, finger (laughing)

fingertips forward.

Yes, I am human.

I know you were
wondering. (chuckles)

Warrior II.

So there's a tendency here,

we're just gonna touch
on some of these things

in this first week,

and then we're gonna
fly like rock stars

but there's a tendency to
kind of lean forward here,

think about stacking the spine,

so that the energy that
runs up and down the spine

can flow without constriction.

Align head over heart,
heart over pelvis.

Think Mountain
Pose in the spine.

Cool, and then inhale,
reach the right fingertips up,

and back, we're gonna
straighten the front leg,

I'm sure you're gonna love that,
covering that front leg.

This is a little
reverse Triangle here.

Inhale, exhale,
cartwheel it all the way back,

all the way back,
all the way back.

And then repeat the twist
as you pivot on the back foot,

inhale, right
fingertips up to the sky,

or maybe with that Ocean Breath.

Exhale, let it
guide you back down.

Plant the palms,
we've been here before,

step the right toes back.

Beautiful, inhale,
shift forward.

This time belly to Cobra,
or maybe now

you take a Chaturanga
to an Upward Facing Dog.

Inhale in.

Exhale to
Downward Facing Dog.

That's where we'll meet.

Good, inhale in deeply.

And exhale completely.

On your next inhale,
lift the left leg up high.

Maybe with Ujjayi Breath.

Beautiful, pause here.

This is tough,
we're building strength.

Working from the
inside out too here,

creating awareness of
all these intrinsic muscles.

Particularly in the abdominal,

around your center, your core.

But really, everywhere.

Good inhale, 
lift the left leg up high.

Welcome that heat.

Exhale, shift it forward, 
rounding in the spine,

knee to nose and 
then step it all the way up,

front knee over front ankle.

So reconnect, anchor
with your breath here.

If you're getting warm,

you can take some
exhales out through the mouth.

Just here and there,

especially here in the
beginning of our journey.

Eventually we'll work to
more just nostril breathing,

but love a good
cleansing breath.

If it feels right, 
if you need to sigh out,

definitely take it,
intentionally is great.

Alright, now we'll
pivot on the back foot.

Front, excuse me,
front toes pointing forward.

Front knee over front ankle.

Back toes pointing
towards the right,

front right corner of
your mat, or the room.

Hands come to waistline,
and here we go,

nice strong base here.

Ride the wave up.

Reconnect here.

If you've been
practicing a long time,

this is an amazing
moment for you to really

look at every little thing,

and notice the sensation,

the feedback 
that it's giving you.

Press into the outer
edge of your right foot,

engage your right inner thigh.

And when you're ready,

we'll send the
fingertips all the way up for

Warrior I, Virabhadrasana I.

Careful not to splay out
through the front body here,

like a long puppy belly.

See if you can draw
the navel in and up.

Create a nice,
strong center base.

Imagine you're holding
a big beach ball here,

thumbs back, pinkies forward.

Inhale, maybe you carve a
line with the nose to look up.

And then exhale, 
let's take it to Warrior II.

So maybe you
widen the stance here.

Right fingertips reach back,
left fingertips reach forward.

Front knee's over front ankle.

Torso is stacked, best we can,

working to stack
up through the spine.

Strong legs here,
working those booty muscles,

the core muscles,
relaxing the shoulders down.

So this is a Warrior,

you can embody the
feeling of a warrior here.

Work to find that using
nice controlled breath.

Pressing into all
four corners of the feet.

Don't miss a corner.

Alright, you're doing awesome.

Here we go, let's send
the left fingertips forward,

up and back, straighten
through that left leg.

Feel that big stretch in the
front of the left hip crease.

Neck is nice and long. 
Gorgeous.

Inhale in, exhale,
with the breath,

cartwheel it slowly all
the way back to the front.

We pivot on the right foot,

right hand goes down,
and right away

with your next Ocean inhale,
lift the left fingertips up.

Big twist.

Good, use the
exhale to guide it down.

Plant the palms,
step the left toes back.

Give it a try, Plank Pose.

Maybe even just for a second.
If you've been on the knees,

you might try one
more second in Plank.

And then lower the knees again.

Here we are, finding a
cycle of Ocean Breath.

Inhaling in.

Exhaling out.

One more time, inhaling in.

Exhaling out.

Good, inhale to look forward,

lower all the way down,
belly or Cobra,

or Chaturanga to
Upward Facing Dog, your choice.

Follow your breath,
inhaling to open to your heart.

And exhaling to make your
back to Downward Facing Dog.

Beautiful.

Let's take a nice
cleansing breath here,

so you can let go of
the Ujjayi technique.

Inhale in through the nose.

And out through the mouth,
let something go.

Beautiful.

Slowly lower to the knees.

Bring the big toes together.

Gently walk the knees
as wide as your yoga mat.

And then send those hips
on back towards the feet

as you melt 
your chest, your heart,

towards the earth.
Forehead towards the mat.

Extended Child's Pose.

Okay, my loves,
close your eyes here.

Maybe find a soft rocking
of the forehead on the earth.

Massaging the brow
bone here, the third eye.

And maybe soften the jaw.

And I'll leave it to you,

if it feels best to kind of
just let the breath be natural

and be in it's
natural flow, do that.

If you feel more pull

to practice Ujjayi here,

this would be a nice place

in this private,
little love cave

to really hear that Ocean Sound.

And whatever you're doing,

see if you can notice
a little bit of a rise,

almost like a
wave as you breathe in.

And a fall, gently
as you breathe out.

And just see if you
can find a little bit

of a wave there with the breath,
and the torso, and the belly.

Keep your thoughts loving and

positive, if you can here.

Especially as we
work with tight hips,

tight legs, and
our beautiful bellies.

Good, then hopefully we've
slowed the heart rate down

just a bit here, try to
keep it nice and soft and easy

as you press into your hands,
press into your feet,

and slowly rise back up.

Walk the knees in just a bit.

And then we'll swing the feet,

and the ankles,
legs to one side,

so that we can come
through all the way.

And then we're gonna
come onto our backs.

All the way through.

If you have a
little blanket or towel,

you can put it under the knees,

or maybe today, use it as
a pillow behind the head.

And bring your
hands to your belly,

and walk your heels out
as wide as your yoga mat.

Inhale, feel the belly rise.

Exhale, notice how it falls.

Now find that Ujjayi Breath,
inhale as it rises.

And exhale as it falls.

Now keep, close your eyes,

and keep this little
Ujjayi practice going.

And as you get further
along in your practice,

you can work with
really extending the inhales,

making them longer.

And extending the exhales,
making them longer, too.

So that ultimately,
we're practicing,

we're training ourselves 
to take less breaths

each minute

to trigger the
parasympathetic nervous system

to balance out

the sympathetic,

the other side, the other guys.
(laughs)

Calming any anxiety,

in the body.

Now you can begin to
let that Ujjayi Breath go.

We'll pick it up again 
but just wanna

leave us with this 
one little thought.

You know, Ujjayi Breath
is really for you to hear,

you to listen to.

It's not like a performance.

So especially with the
at-home yoga practice

you get this awesome
opportunity to create

this deep
listening with yourself

which is one of the reasons
I've become so fascinated,

just more and more and
more each year with the breath,

the relationship to the breath,

the science of the breath,

the spirituality of the breath.

So especially
with Ujjayi Breath,

I feel like it's good
right away to acknowledge,

or if this is a
remembering for you,

that this is for you.

It's not to perform.

So it's really just enough
for you to hear that sound.

You're own personal ocean, baby.

Yes!

Hug the knees into the chest.

Let's give the low
back a little love here as

you rock a little side to side.

Great, then send the
arms into Cactus Arms,

bend the elbows, fingertips
point up behind your head.

Let's rock the knees
to one side, any side.

And then back to center.
Take it to the other side.

And back to center,
and one more time.

Can integrate the neck here,
if it feels good, breathing.

And back to center.

To the other side.

And back to center, excellent.

So you can rock and roll up
to a seat if you have to boogie.

If you have time,
let's extend the legs out.

Draw the arms to the sides,

and you can stay
here for a little bit

in Shavasana longer 
if you have the time.

If not, we know you
have to boogie, we love you.

The home practice is beautiful,

'cause it can
be individualized.

And you can really meet
and greet yourself (chuckles)

each day.

It's a pure total,
utter honor and pleasure

to share this practice with you.

Thank you for showing up today.

I do hope and plan
on seeing you tomorrow.

We'll bring the palms together.

Thumbs up to the third eye.

Wherever you are,
take a deep breath in.

And a long breath out.

And we'll close with a whisper,

Namaste.

(bright upbeat piano music)