- What's up, gorgeous people?

Welcome to BREATH,
your 30 day yoga journey.

I'm so glad you're here.

It's Day 9.

And today, we seek Balance.

Let's get started.

(bright upbeat piano music)

Alright, welcome back.

Let's start in a nice,
comfortable seat.

We are gonna move today.

But we're gonna
ease into the practice,

kind of connecting
the dots from yesterday.

It's low to the ground practice

with a nice calming breath,
alternate nostril breathing.

Balancing the left and
the right side of the brain

and left and
right side of the body.

So sit up nice and tall.

Take a deep
breath in both nostrils.

And use your exhale
to really land here.

Just relax the shoulders.

Good.

Then we'll take the right thumb.

Bring it to the right nostril.

Hang with me.

We're gonna inhale in
through the left nostril.

Then at the top, you pause,
retain the breath

and seal the left
nostril with the middle finger

or the ring finger, your choice.

And then exhale out
through the right nostril.

This takes a second to get
if you're new to the practice,

so be patient with yourself.

Inhale in through
the right nostril.

You got it.

Sit up nice and tall.

At the top of the breath,
you pause, retain the breath.

And this is where
we seal and switch.

And then exhale out
through the left nostril.

Just learning the pattern here.

Inhale in through
the left nostril.

Pause at the top, 
hold the breath, retain.

Switch and seal and 
exhale out through the right.

Inhale in through the right.

Pause at the top, 
switch and seal.

And exhale through the left.

Alright, so as we
get this pattern,

you can begin to
close your eyes,

inhaling in
through the left nostril.

Big sip of air.

Pause at the top, heart's lifted.

Switch and seal,
exhale through the right.

Inhale in through the right.

At the top of the breath,
pause, switch,

seal and exhale
through the left.

Inhale through the right.

Long, smooth breath.

At the top of the breath,
pause, switch and seal,

and then slow
exhale out the right.

Inhale through the right.

Pause at the top, 
switch and seal.

Exhale through the left.

Last round, inhale in.

Pause, switch and seal and

slow exhale through the right.

Slow, inhale through the right.

Take in as much air as you can.

Switch, seal and
exhale through the left.

At the bottom of that breath,

release your hand
back to your lap.

Close your eyes, breathe
in through both nostrils.

And exhale
through both nostrils.

Just take a second.
Notice how you feel.

Then bat thine eyelashes open.

(chuckles)

And let's take this energy,

this kind of focus
with us onto all fours.

If you feel calm, 
a little sleepy, don't worry.

We're not gonna move
too fast right away.

Alright, once
you're on all fours,

of course always feel free
to pad the knees, if you like.

Bring the feet, 
the toes together, excuse me,

bring the knees as
wide as the yoga mat.

Walk the hands out
underneath the shoulders,

from underneath the
shoulders just a bit.

Then inhale, we're gonna 
come forward with the chest.

Exhale, we're gonna 
move in a circle,

come around through
Extended Child's Pose.

This is the exhale,
exhale, exhale.

And then inhale,

grip the fingertips as you
slide it forward, look forward.

Exhale, round it through,

and down into that
Extended Child Pose.

And then inhale, back up.

So once you have the pattern,
follow your breath.

And then you can
kind of work it out

with the spine a little bit,

finding little moments
to maybe drop the belly

as you come forward,

and round the spine
as you transition back.

And then allowing
the belly to drop again

as you come forward.

So we're kind of
working individually

to create a little more flexibility,

flexion in the spine.

And then reverse the circle.

Keep the fingertips rooted.

Keep the tops of the
feet grounding down.

Always working from the
ground up as we play here.

Going to be important
as we start to balance

and push our
balance a little bit more.

Push the envelope.

Alright, the next 
time you're up,

walk the knees
underneath the hips.

Let's go ahead and turn
the upper arms out just a bit

and widen the
stance of the hands.

Make sure your
fingertips are spread

super-wide like starfish.

Then we'll curl the toes under,
inhale in and exhale,

hips up high and back for
your Downward Facing Dog.

Take a couple seconds
here to pedal it out.

One leg and then the other

as you claw
through your fingertips.

Taking that
pressure out of the wrists.

Melting the heart back.

Remember to lift 
the hip creases

up, up, up towards the sky.

And then bend your knees.

Carve a line with
your nose to look forward

and step your way up to the top.

Feet together or hip
width apart, your choice.

Allow the weight of
the head to relax over.

Take three to five breaths here.

Rooting down through all
four corners of the feet.

Nice, long breaths.

Promoting healthy blood flow.

Great, then we'll draw the
hands to the waistline here.

Draw the shoulder blades
together and root to rise,

slowly press into your feet.

Lead with your heart as
you come up to standing.

Lift your heart.

Stand up nice and tall.

Elbows are
pulling back again here.

Now we're gonna
start to really imagine

this beautiful

play between opposites.

So in Mountain Pose,
we've mentioned this before,

but we're drawing
energy up from the earth.

And I like to really
give myself the visual.

Keep doing this. (chuckles)

The visual of energy
rising through the front body.

So it really helps
me come into alignment.

I bring my hip points forward,

or even up is a good way 
to put it, help you find this

lift up through the front.

And then in the back, you
can even use your thumbs here

to kind of pull you down,
dig through the heels.

And we're playing with
this kind of sun energy

and this moon energy,
or in yoga,

we call it Sthira and Sukha.

So the stability
and the strength

married with the ease, right?

Or the softness
or even the grace.

So marrying effort with ease.

The lift and the ground.

Just some little
food for thought

as we continue our journey here.

Alright, from here, we're
gonna keep all of this in mind

lifting through the front,
grounding through the back

as you shift your
weight to your left foot.

Inhale, imagine you have
a little marionette string

on your right knee.

We're gonna lift
the right knee up

and see if we can
play here a little bit

in a standing
one-legged Mountain Pose.

Standing One-Legged Tadasana.

Then you can take your gaze
downward to focus on a point.

Find a little Drishti, 
as we call it in the practice,

to gaze upon, to help
you hold this balance.

Building strength
in that hip flexor.

Good, and then
slowly release it.

Try to keep that lift
up from the pelvic floor.

All this work with your energy.

Helping to support you as you

shift your weight 
to your right foot.

Imagine that
string lifting you up

on your left knee cap there.

Flex your left foot,

Standing One-Legged
Tadasana on the left side.

Again, use that
focal point to help you

with your stability here.

The belly's not soft here.
We know what to do.

Draw the navel in and up,
hug the low ribs in.

Lengthen through
the back of the neck,

putting it all into play.

Deep breath in.

Good, then slowly
exhale and release it down.

Let's let it go.

Drop the fingertips 
down to come up.

Inhale, reach for the sky.

Big breath, big stretch.

Exhale, palms come
together and slice right down

through the midline as you
come into your Forward Fold.

Beautiful.

Inhale, send the fingertips
back as you lift up halfway.

So this time, we're
coming into airplane arms

for our halfway lift.

See if you can draw the
shoulder blades together

to open up through
the chest and the pecs.

Good, take a breath here.

Maybe even catch a
little wave, rise up.

And then exhale, 
float it down, Forward Fold.

Good, plant the palms.

Step just the right leg back,
just the right leg.

We're gonna come up
into a high lunge.

You know you could always lower
that left knee to the earth.

Both options are great.

Inhale to sweep the arms up.

Pull the right
hip crease back here.

Good, then exhale.

Bend the elbows,
lift your chest.

Look up towards the sky.

Good, so we're here 
or we're here with

the knee on the ground.

Excellent, inhale.

Reach the fingertips back up.

Exhale, wiggle the fingertips,
rain it down.

Come into that twist,
we know it well.

Inhale, we reach the
right fingertips up.

Breathe into your belly.

Exhale, plant the palms.

Step the back foot,
listen carefully, up halfway.

Heel can stay lifted here,

but eventually, you
wanna work to bring it down.

Left toes are pointed

towards the front
left corner of the mat.

Right knee can stay bent
as generously as you need.

This is a tricky one.

But eventually, we'll work 
to create length there.

So pop up onto
the fingertips here.

If you have blocks, this
is a great place to use them.

We're coming into a
little pure Pyramid Posture.

This can be tricky, 
breathe deep.

To challenge yourself here,

you can bring the
hands to the waistline.

Draw the elbows back,
shoulder blades together.

Beautiful.

Now create a
nice flat back here.

And then we'll fold it all in,
fingertips on the earth.

Or to challenge yourself, you
can grab the calf or the ankle

and draw the nose
towards the knee.

This is a lot so 
I'm just giving you options.

Keep the left
inner thigh engaged.

This is the good stuff though.

Deep breath.

Exhale to release.

Lift the back heel, bend
both knees, plant the palms.

Step the left toes back first,

then the right
foot all the way back.

Plank Pose or Half Plank.

Good, inhale in, shift forward.

Exhale all the way to the belly.

Inhale for Cobra.

And exhale to release.

Inhale to all fours or
Plank Pose, your choice.

Exhale Downward Facing Dog.

Inhale in deeply here.

And exhale completely.

Alright, here we go.

Step the left
foot all the way up.

Nice high lunge,

always can lower that
back knee to the earth.

Squeeze the
inner thighs together.

Front knee over front ankle.

Inhale, sweep the fingertips 
forward, up, and back.

Right heel's reaching back
if the back knee is lifted.

Navel is drawing in and up.

Inhale, carve a line
with your nose to look up.

Exhale, bend the elbows,
lift your chest.

Beautiful.

Inhale to reach it
all the way back up.

And exhale to
wiggle the fingertips.

Slowly bring it back down.

Alright, here we go.

Nice and slow, in control.

Step the back
foot up about halfway.

Right toes point towards the
front right corner of the mat.

We can keep a slight bend in
both knees, working towards,

though, eventually
creating length, straightening.

Left hip crease is pulling back.

We can pop up on
the fingertips here

or use our blocks or
books work great too.

Beautiful, I'm engaging
through my right inner thigh.

Again, pulling that
left hip crease back.

Great.

To challenge yourself,

you can draw the
hands to the waistline,

draw the
shoulder blades together.

And then inhale, come to
a nice flat back position.

Hug those low
ribs in, you got this.

And then exhale, fold it down.

Fold inward, fingertips can
stay on the mat or the blocks

or now you can
challenge yourself

by grabbing the back of
the ankle or the calf here.

Maybe nose towards the knee.

Balance.

Inhale in deeply.

Exhale, bend both knees,
lift your back heel.

Step the right foot all
the way back, way back.

Step the left foot back.

Inhale in, shift forward,
look forward.

Exhale, belly to Cobra or
Chaturanga to Upward Facing Dog.

Use your inhale to
open your heart here.

Then use your exhale
to make your way back

to Downward Facing Dog.

Awesome work.

Inhale in deeply here.

Exhale, let it go.

Inhale to look to
the top of your mat.

Exhale to make your way
to the top of your mat.

Inhale, halfway lift
with airplane arms.

And exhale, Forward Fold.
Let it all go.

Good, bring the hands to
the waistline once again.

Here we go.
Root to rise.

Inhale, come all the way up.

Exhale, find that connection.

Downward energy
through the back,

upward energy through the front.

Lift the right knee.

Standing One-Legged Tadasana.

Keep the hands on the waistline

or we'll reach the fingertips
all the way up to the sky.

What!

If you fall, we'll catch you.

Don't worry.

Just come right
back to the practice.

Good, so hands are
on the waistline here

or fingertips are reaching.

Wherever you are,
we're gonna go on a little ride.

inhale in.

Exhale, slow and steady.

We're gonna send the
right foot all the way back.

Right toes can
actually stay on the ground

for this whole journey, right?

We're working here, building
strength in that left glute,

left thigh, core,

and just a sensibility of
being able to balance oppositions

so that we can stay centered.

So don't worry
about the posture.

Focus on the process.

You can keep the
big toe on the ground

or maybe the back
foot's all the way.

Fingertips reaching forward
or hands on the waistline.

Little Warrior III variation.

Dial the right toes
down or point the toes,

yogi's choice here.

Soft bend on that standing leg.

We're opening the heart.

Good. And then maybe 
add airplane arms here

for one more cycle of breath in.

And out.

Then hands come
back to the waistline.

We bring the right
foot all the way back in

and switch to the other side.

Here we go.
Inhale, lift the left knee up.

Stay here, breathing deep.

Or maybe this time,
adding the arms all the way up.

Imagine you're holding a
big beach ball up and overhead.

Be careful not to
collapse too much

into that right hip here.

We're pressing up in
and away from the earth

with that right foot.

Just like we've been
doing with our foundation

this whole ride thus far.

With hand on the waistline
or fingertips reaching high,

we'll begin to send the
left leg back, heart forward.

Again, the leg can stay on
the ground or toes on the ground

this whole time working here.

And then maybe
doing little liftoffs.

Wherever you are,
check in with your breath.

Each inhale, a new arrival.

So if you fall,
it's a great thing to go

okay, I'm gonna start with this,
I'm gonna begin again.

Let's start with
a nice inhale in.

And exhale to ground.

Find that
contraction in the center.

Lots of energy in
the left toes here.

And then let's take the
fingertips back if you like

for one cycle of
breath in airplane arms.

And then slowly release.

This time feet come 
together, really together.

Palms come together.

Elbows, left to right.

Inhale in.

Exhale,
interlace the fingertips.

Press the palms forward.

Inhale, press the palms all
the way up towards the sky.

And then exhale.

Bend the elbows, 
wiggle the fingertips,

release your bind

and take it all the way down,
leading with your heart.

Forward Fold.

Good, inhale,
halfway lift, airplane arms.

Exhale, release everything, 
Forward Fold.

Awesome.

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

Inhale to look forward,
shift forward.

Exhale to lower to the belly.

Beautiful, drag the hands 
in line with the rib cage.

Press into the tops of the feet.

Inhale, 
big beautiful Cobra here.

And exhale to release.

Beautiful, come
on to your elbows.

Shift the weight of your hips,
lift your hips up.

Take it to the left.

Turn on your right shoulder,

and let's go ahead and roll
all the way onto our backs here.

Nice, fancy transition.

Knees up, feet on the ground.

Get the low back nice
and snuggly with the mat.

And then just gonna
kick the right foot up.

Cross the right ankle over
the top of the left thigh.

Take your right hand
through this center hole here.

Interlace the fingertips
behind the left thigh.

Now we're really bringing
left shin parallel to the earth

to start here, but then
you can start to squeeze

the legs up towards your
heart as it feels appropriate

in your body.

You can use the right
elbow to kind of press out

into that right hip.

And if it feels right,

you might rock a
little side to side here

in our Reclined
One-Legged Pigeon.

Beautiful.

Squeeze the legs up
towards the heart a little more.

Then slowly send your 
left foot all the way up

towards the sky.

Squeeze again 
one more time, gently.

And then let everything go.

Unravel, right foot
comes to the earth.

Left foot goes up.

Left ankle
crosses over the right.

Send the left fingertips

through this hole
we've created here.

Interlace the fingertips
and lift the right shin.

Same thing here, although
probably different sensation.

So play around.

Squeezing the legs up.

Maybe rocking a
little side to side.

Notice if your chin
is up all the way here,

see if you can tuck your chin

lengthen through the back
of the neck as you play here.

Breathing.

Alright, gently squeeze the legs

up towards the
heart a little more.

Hmm, and then extend the
right leg up as best you can.

A little bit of a hug, 
a little more if you have it.

Gently and then
release everything down.

Beautiful. Walk the feet to 
the outer edges of the mat,

as wide as the mat.

And then allow both knees
to fall over towards the left.

Bring the hands to
rest on the low ribs.

Option here to
take the left ankle,

cross it over the
top of the right thigh.

Breathe.

Can start to close
your eyes here, relax.

And then slowly release
that bind if you have it.

Come through by bringing
the knees all the way back up

and then taking
them to the right side.

So you wanna make sure your feet

are as wide as
your mat, not narrow.

Otherwise, we won't get
the rotation we seek here.

And then if you want, cross
the right ankle over the left.

Breathe deep here.

Close your eyes.

Began to relax.

On your next inhale, fill
all four sides of the torso

and then use that
exhale to release everything.

Come back to center.

Hug both knees
up into the chest.

Give yourself a big hug.

Mmm!

Send some love inward.

Cultivating love within.

So that we can

just percolate
with love and send it out.

(chuckles)

Allow the feet to
come to the earth,

extend one leg out 
then the other.

You can take a nice full
body stretch here if you need to.

Otherwise, we'll
just come to rest.

Hands gently at our
sides or on our belly.

Hands on the belly.

Your choice.

Just take a moment to

allow the nutrients 
of your practice,

the breath practice, the asana.

This intentional choice
to show up for yourself,

even when it's difficult.

If not, especially
when it's difficult.

I bow to you.

When you're ready,
bring the palms together.

Thumbs to third eye.

Take a deep breath in.

And a long breath out.

And we close with a whisper.

Namaste.

(bright upbeat piano music)