- Hello everyone, and welcome to Yoga with Adriene. I am Adriene and this is Benji, and today we have Cozy Yoga, so grab a little blanket if you have one and grab a little cushion or a pillow and then be sure to hop into something really, really cozy, okay? Today's practice is a nice blend of activity and softness. We're gonna breathe deep and find what feels good. Let's get started. (upbeat music) Alright my darling friends, let's begin lying down. Take your time getting there. So, start to move in a nice, kind, gentle way, soft landing as you come onto your back. Then send the legs out long and bring your hands to your belly and take a deep breath in and then this first exhale, just really let it go, ah. Cool, close your eyes. Start to tap into a little inner smile, and just take a moment to notice where you are. Be thankful, appreciative for this practice and this time that you're taking for yourself and for your body. So really relishing in the idea of the at-home yoga practice. There's nothing like it. You can feel cozy and this idea or this feeling of being at home, and if that brings up some sort of, you know, less than happy thought, just lean in, breath deep, I got your back. Gently begin to deepen your breath. Feel the warmth of your hands on your belly. And a lotta folks, not everyone, but will be practicing this for the first time around the holidays, so again, tapping into a little gratitude but also breathing deep down into the belly with love and kindness, no toxic thoughts. And nice and slow, you're gonna begin to rock the head gently side to side, ear to ear, and try to keep a soft gaze or your eyes closed, at least for the first beat of this practice. You can listen to the sound of my voice and let it guide you. So, we're massaging the back of the head, starting to stretch through the neck, and just arrive here. If you're doing this with other people, you can say hello as you turn to one side and hello as you turn to the other, say, what's up. I'll say hi to Benji, hey buddy. Okay, and then even it out and come back to center, and we're gonna take a nice full body stretch. To do that, press into your heels, toes up towards the sky, and reach the fingertips all the way up behind you, big full body stretch, totally getting Benji here, and then point the toes, take a deep breath in, and then rotate the ankles one way and then the other and the wrists one way and then the other. And wherever you are, again, just take in your surroundings and trust that everything is as it should be. Home is where the heart is. Your at-home yoga practice can go anywhere, and we can maybe use this opportunity to just tap into gratitude again. I don't know about you, but I feel quite blessed and even when I kind of struggle, I can return to this feeling and it can pick me up, and speaking of a pick-me-up, we're gonna bring the palms to the earth and slowly bend one knee and then the other. And then walk your heels up towards your seat. Fingertips are gonna reach down, and then press into all four corners of the feet, toes pointing forward, and you're gonna inhale, lift the hip points up. You don't have to go super high, just keep it nice and easy and maybe open the palms as you lift up. Knees squeeze in so they're not splaying out, and then exhale, get a little massage on your spine as you lower down. Alright, and now with the breath, big inhale, reach it up, hips up towards the sky, shins forward. Chin to chest first and then chin to the sky. Nice and then slowly lower, and then try to make this one kind of yummy, soft, fluid. Strong foundation in the feet, here we go, inhale, lift it up. Maybe on this one, you stay up there and find a reach of the fingertips up and over the head, big stretch, shins forward, and then exhale, float it all the way down. Rain it down with the fingertips. Beautiful, now press into the feet, and you're gonna send the hips to one side of your mat, any side, you pick, and then you're gonna come into a little fetal position as you continue to turn onto your side, and then really hug the knees up towards the chest. So, we're getting our spinal flection here by doing the Bridge lifts and now a little fetal position, so imagine all that space between each vertebra. If you have a hoodie on, now would be a good time to go ahead and embrace it, and then you're gonna take your bottom arm, whatever arm's on the bottom, imagine that, and you're gonna bend it, bend at the elbow, and create a little pillow for yourself, and then maybe you find that you can hug the knees up towards the chest a little more, and then just allow the top arm to rest. You're gonna close your eyes and you're gonna take five nice, long deep breaths in and out. Close your eyes, five breath cycles. (deeply breathing) And after you do about five breath cycles, you're gonna use your top hand to press into the earth and then you're gonna slowly lift your heart, nice and slow, use the bottom hand to help press you all the up to a nice cross-legged seat. And when you get here, you can move the fleshy part of the buttocks aside if that's your thing. You can keep the hoodie on or take it off. If I was just doing this on my own, I would definitely keep the hoodie on. And we're gonna sit up nice and tall. Hands come together at the heart, and we tap into a little inner smile here, so if this is a new concept for you, give it a go. Try not to define it or figure it out, just that feeling of an inner smile. You can even lift the corners of the mouth just slightly. Nice, soft skin of the face, pleasant in the face, and then we're gonna inhale, lift the sternum up a little bit higher to the thumbs, and then exhale, relax the shoulders down. Beautiful. Take one more deep breath in here. And this time, as you exhale, gently bow the head to the heart, you're getting a nice big stretch in the back of the neck. You can activate the shoulder blades, drawing them a little bit more together and down the back body. No cranking or forcing though, just nice awareness in the upper back body. And now, listen to the sound of your breath and set a little intention if you like, something positive that will serve you. It can also just be a couple cycles of conscious breath. Neither one cause any harm. Sweet, then interlace the fingertips and then here we go, we're gonna lift the chin and press the palms forward. Pause here, plug the shoulders in, sit up nice and tall, and then keep it going, pinky, pinky fingers are gonna reach forward, up, and back as you reach all the way up towards the sky. Big stretch, inhale in. Exhale, twist to the left. Break free, twist to the left. Inhale, sit up nice and tall, and exhale, release through. Palms come together back at center. We interlace, press the palms forward, up and back, big stretch. And then releasing, open twist to the right. Sit up and nice and tall, inhale, lift your heart, and exhale, release, come back to center. Awesome, we're gonna take the left heel in towards your center now and then the right heel just to come in front of the left ankle. So, one foot in front of the other here. Then interlace the fingertips, press the palms forward, up and back, big stretch. And this time, as you exhale, you're gonna break free, fingertips wiggle all the way down, and then nice and slow, fingertips come to the earth, and you're gonna creepy crawl them all the way forward. Start to feel this big stretch in your right hip, and then yogi's choice, if you're tired, you're really heavy today, go ahead and come onto the forearms. You can even rest your head in your hands. Or, if you're feeling a little flowy, feeling good, you can take the hands to one side and then the other. About five cycles of breath here. So, you find what feels good, maybe you stay static, bowing the head, or maybe you walk the hands from side to side. Whatever dance you're choosing here, try to focus on your breath, listening to your inhalation and your exhalation. And then for this last cycle or two of breath, see if you can really activate the hip creases. Pull them back, let your bum, your hips grow really heavy here, so your sit bones really, instead of reaching up here, they reach down, down, down towards the earth. And then we'll slowly release, tuck the chin into the chest, come all the way up. You're gonna actually capture your right foot, outer edge of your right foot. Left hand comes back for a little support. Got zoned out there, it's working. Left hand comes back for a little support, and you're just gonna slowly draw a line with your right heel forward, so this right knee is in a nice right angle here. We're sitting up nice and tall, nice and tall. Maybe you work, in time, to pull that right knee back. Inhale, sit up nice and tall. We're stimulating a healthy flow of energy that runs up and down the spine, perfect if you've been a little static, and then release. Right heel comes in. Left shin comes to follow. Interlace the fingertips, press the palms forward, up and back, big stretch. Lift through all four sides of the torso. Take a deep breath in, then exhale, break free. Wiggle the fingertips, bend the elbows, and then the fingertips come down to the ground, and for most of us, it's the holiday time right now, so spiders won't be good, but what would be good? Mice? Crawl your mice out. And then again, I don't wanna, it's cozy yoga, so it should feel really, really good and in tune with where you are today, so, all yoga, really. So, you decide, maybe it's really active, you're like in that Shakti mood. Maybe it's really chill. Maybe the lower back needs some love again, walking to the left. To the left, to the right, to the right, to the front, to the front. And then just a little friendly reminder, listen to the sound of your breath. It really doesn't matter what you do here, just feel it out. There's no right or wrong, and focus on your breath. and keep returning and refocusing on your breath. And then watch how it can change the way you feel. The way you live, okay. Keep breathing here, and I'll be quiet. (deeply breathing) And for your last cycle of breath, really let the sits bones, the hips to grow heavy, so really actively push the hip creases back. Send some love to that left outer hip. And geeze, sighing a lot today. Okay, and then we're gonna slowly roll it back up. Right hand comes behind for stability, and then here we go, we're gonna pick up old Bessie, left foot over here, and nice and easy, you gotta connect to your center here, your core as you lift, but in a gentle way, in a nice way. You're gonna lift up. Notice how I'm keeping my right toes active. And if this I not happening for you, you can keep it nice and low, nice and easy here. In time, we might draw that left knee back, pulling it back, kinda like a bow and arrow here. We'll be getting into shapes like this in January. One more breath, inhale. Oh yeah, then the exhale, release. Fabulous, palms come together, namaste, and then let's press them forward and shift forward. We're gonna come to all fours, nice and easy. Knees underneath the hip points, wrists underneath the shoulders. Take a deep breath in here, press away from your yoga mat. Awesome, then you're gonna just walk the left hand in just a hair and we're gonna inhale, reach the right fingertips all the way up and out, and then exhale. Right hand is gonna place, replace, excuse me, the left hand, and you're gonna open left fingertips up high. Only two more rounds of this, just opening up nice and slow, thoracic, finding that nice through the chest, the pecs. Beautiful, and one more round, you got it. Keep the neck supported nice and long, ooh, opening up through my shoulders, yowza! Alright, beautiful and then back to center. Drop the elbows, big heart opener here but really, really yummy. So palms place on the earth, elbows in line with the wrists and check it out, this is a fun one to do with your family or your roommates 'cause everyone gets to stick their butts up. So walk your knees back. ♪ Let it all shine ♪ That's the theme this month right, light, let it shine. Forehead slowly melts to the earth, breathe deep here. So I'll be quiet, please listen to the sound of your breath as you press into the tops of the feet and soften your face. Close your eyes, melt your heart to the earth. (deeply breathing) And on your last cycle of breath, just make sure that your hips are over your knees, I want everyone to get this nice stretch, so if you've gone all the way back to a Child's Pose situation which I see a lot, maybe you might like this offering of hips over the knees. Let's do one more big cycle of breath here. Sweet, then draw your navel up, move from your center, walk the knees in, come back up onto the palms, plant them with so much consciousness and care, and then slowly, peel up from the tail, Downward Facing Dog. Look at us, just two downward dogs here. Peddle it out, set, excuse me, stretch through your feet, find what feels good. And then slowly walk your hands and feet towards the center of your mat nice and slow, so you come into a nice yummy Forward Fold. Feet hip width apart today or maybe even a little wider. Clasp the elbows, take a deep breath in. And then as you exhale, release. Arms to the earth, shake the head loose. And then press into your heels, bend the knees, and slowly we'll roll up to stand, nice and slow. And when you rise again, returning to that warmth, that feeling of an inner smile, whatever it is for you, maybe tapping into a little joy or being open to it, and to help with that, you know what I'm gonna do, right? Little knocking on heaven's door. So, you're gonna take the fingertips to one side. We'll break it down, soft knees, and then you're gonna take 'em through to the other side, soft knees, and then pick up the pace, giddy up, back and forth. Keep the feet grounded, soft bend in the knees. This is a fun one to do with others too because you all feel like idiots, no, I'm just kidding. (laughs) Joyful, joyful happy people is what I mean, come on now. And if you're doing this alone, look at your surroundings, you're not alone. There's a plant in the room, ah, wonderful. There's a window, beautiful. Hey, if you are lucky enough to have a roof over your head, say thank you. Alright, pick up the pace here, just creating a little bit of energy. And then, we'll let it go. Nice and slow, come back to center. Then we'll bring the feet together and the hands to the heart. Shift your weight to your left foot, slowly lift the right knee up high. Tree Pose. You can grab that right heel, bring it all the way up to your center. If that's not right for your body, maybe give it a try with the toes on the ground. Either variation or maybe here on the calf, just not on the knee, and then either variation, imagine your top, the top of you right thigh, so this right femur thigh bone rotating out. Then press your left leg into your right. Collect some energy, hug everything into the midline, and then take a variation that rocks your world here today, so maybe it's interlacing the fingertips behind and opening up through the chest, which is gonna rock my world today. Maybe it's taking the fingertips up high. Maybe it's gently keeping the palms together in prayer at your heart. Breathe deep, keep your gaze down if you need more stability. If you want more of a challenge, you can start to draw your gaze all the way up to the sky. Breathing deep. And then we'll slowly release. Bring the palms together. Both feet come down. And we'll switch to the other side. So, shift to your right foot. Draw your left leg up. And then find where you're gonna connect, so navel draws in and up, and maybe it's on the thigh, maybe it's on the shin, or maybe it's on the ground, but it's all connected, so we're not holding on for dear life, but it's rather engaged, and then top of the left thigh bone rotates out. And then take a variation that feels really awesome on this side. I'm gonna go behind my back again, opposite thumb on top. And then play with your focus. And then slowly, we'll release. Palms come together, both feet on the ground, awesome. Inhale, take a big reach up towards the sky. Exhale, snowflakes falling all the way down, mm. And then bend your knees generously. You're gonna plant one palm and then the other or fingertips and then we're gonna slowly keep bending the knees, lift the heels up, stretch through the feet, and you're gonna drop your center down. Then walk the fingertips behind, soft landing as you come onto your bum, onto a seat. And then we're gonna open the knees wide, soles of the feet come together, and we sit up nice and tall for Cobbler's Pose. And you can take this opportunity to massage your feet a little bit here. You can, if you don't, if that's really not your thing, here's a little instruction. You can take your thumbs to the arches and just start to massage that area, and then take it from there. Hey buddy. That's why we pay him the big bucks. Hey bud. Okay, and then sit up nice and tall after your foot massage. If you skimped out on that foot massage, put your thumbs to your arches right now and just give a couple presses, just see what happens. Notice how you feel when you participate in that action. Once again, tops of the thighs are rotating out, just like in Tree Pose, and we're gonna sit up nice and tall and then send your heart forward as you bend the elbows left to right. Maybe you pause about right here, chest open, throat open, inner smile turned on. Or maybe you continue the journey down, nose towards the toes, rounding through the spine, feeling that deep stretch again through the back of the neck. Take a deep breath in, and then use your exhale to slowly roll it back up. Awesome work. We're gonna take the feet out in front, hands behind you, and just gonna windshield wiper the legs one way and then the other. Buddy, buddy, keep it clean. One way and then the other. And then just do it a couple more times. Make it your own, get a little booty massage. If you need a little more, you can cross opposite ankle over the top of the thigh. Keep the toes active. And then when you feel satisfied, go ahead and bring it all the way to center. We're gonna cross the ankles again. Come onto all fours, prepare for your One-Legged Pigeon. Now, couple a things before we do this today. Grab your blankie and your pillow just in case, and you choose an option. If you're feeling a little chilly, you're gonna take your blanket, this is a very fancy move here, and you're gonna bring it up on your shoulders, and you're gonna wear it like this, go the other side. And then you're gonna keep your pillow handy, like Benji is, and then you're gonna come into your pigeon like this, okay? If you're a little bit heated, say you're warm, that's what that means, you're going to, instead, lay your blanket, he thinks it's for him. Well, I know you love blankies, but, so if you're heated, you're gonna lay your blanket. Sorry, this video's turning into a long one. You're gonna lay your blanket out, but that's okay. Cozy yoga together. Like this, and then you're gonna come into your One-Legged Pigeon like so. So, it's a little bit special either way. You're either laying on your blanket or you're gonna bring it around and wear it like a shawl, okay? Both are very simple gestures that are gonna make you feel awesome in your Pigeon. I know it seems like what are we doing, Adriene, but sometimes it's the little things. And then you're gonna take your pillow and your option here for the pillow is to bring for your head, imagine that, or bring it over to your right hip and use it as a little bumper for your right hip. Keep the toes active. Take a deep breath when you get there, and then use an exhale to find what feels good, either resting your head on the pillow, maybe on the forearms, maybe a block if you have it, or down to the earth. So, it may seem a bit silly, but I swear, I put a little thought, a lot of thought into everything I share, and so you kind of have to make the decision, what do I want, the blanket over, the blanket out, and as you go through that action, you're committing to your choice. So without going too into it, it's like you're sending a very, you're uniting the mind and the body in a very unique way through these simple gestures. And then take that mindfulness and double it in this pose. Press into the top of the back foot. Really feel with every breath the nuance of this shape today. And then if you've been kind of enjoying and conversing with your homies that you're practicing with if you're practicing with someone, go ahead and everyone, take this moment to close your eyes and go inward just for a couple breath cycles at least. A moment of quiet, of silence, maybe you send some love to someone or maybe you dedicate this moment of silence to someone who is only with you in spirit. Embrace this quiet moment with one more cycle of breath. Whew, and then press into the top of the back foot and slowly use your hands to bring it all the way back up. Notice what came up. You're gonna come through to center. Soles of the feet kiss together, and then you can take it to the other side. Now, if you're like me and you kind of like the front of your mat to stay the front of your mat sometimes, depending on what room you're in, you can stay facing this way, just come back to all fours and lift the left leg up. So, lots of options today. If you're like, oh, for this one, I wanna try the shawl, do that. So, you're gonna come into Pigeon Pose on the left side. Your choice, your setup. I'll change it up so I do both, so that I'm with, so that I'm with all the people, and so that I look amazing in this shawl. (chuckles) When I look at the video later, okay, I love you guys. Find your One-Legged Pigeon on the other side. Shoulda said this the first round, but if the first round was a little bit too much for you, you can do this on your back. You can come to lay on your back and do a reclined One-Legged Pigeon here. Okay, so we're taking some time to get there. You can use the pillow in a way that feels awesome, but then when you get there and after you get done laughing at the way I look and kind of enjoying the energy of whatever room you're in, I'm serious, as your humble yoga guide and your friend, let's take a moment here to be quiet and to be with our breath, so when you find it, breathe deep, a little deeper, a little more fully, and take the mindfulness that you put in and just kinda that fun energy and maintain that here, but just come into stillness. And as you listen to the sound of your breath, again, maybe there's an opportunity to send some love to someone or dedicate this moment of silence. Awesome, then slowly press into the back of the foot, excuse me, back of, (cheerfully sighs) press into the top of your back foot, lord, and we're gonna slowly swing that leg as you rise up around. You're gonna come to hold your pillow at your chest. Dig your heels into the ground, and then take your pillow, lean back, lift your shins, and just kiss it to the left. And then bring it up, little Russian twist to finish this off, and kiss it to the right. And then up through center to the left and to the right. Now, pick up the pace a little. If you want, you can extend opposite leg. Everyone's like, "I thought this was cozy yoga!" It is, you're gonna feel amazing in five. Four. Lift your heart, three. Two, look up, smile. And then release on the one. Pillow's gonna come, you guessed it, all the way behind the head. You're gonna come to lie down on your back and if you're warm, you're gonna lay on your blanket, and if you're cold, you're gonna take your, or cool, or you just wanna be cozy AF, I wonder when we're gonna look back and go, I can't believe we all said that for so long. Maybe not, maybe, maybe we won't. Goodness. Keepin' it real on the Yoga with Adriene channel. So, lay on your blanket or tuck yourself in, guys. Like a mummy, like a burrito. (sighs) And then allow your hands to rest gently at your sides. (chuckles) Hmm. And relax the weight of your body completely and fully into the earth. So, we're coming up on the end of our practice, so I'd love to invite you to activate your breath, really, really deepen your breath here. We'll take a deep breath in together and exhale out through the mouth. Twice more, inhale. Exhale, relax the weight of your body completely and fully, and one last time, deep breath in, and exhale to release everything. Close your eyes. Once again, returning to gratitude, this appreciation for your body, this time, and this practice. And people always thank me for Yoga with Adriene, but really, thank you because anyone who shows up for regular yoga or just says, yes, maybe this is your first practice, in which case, do try another. This one's unique. (laughs) But, you're my hero to show up at home for yourself and not press pause and not stop or if you do, that's fine, but to show up for yourself in this type of setting is pretty amazing, especially in this day and age, so. Basically, you rock. Just take another cycle of breath here to, just to be, to calm the nervous system. This time of year can be intense on many, many, many, many, many levels. So, the body itself gets just really caught up, right? Caught up in the response to so many things that happen around this time of year, so basically, take a moment to really just chill. Release from that fight or flight. Soften your breath, make sure, like you might notice, oh my gosh, yes, I'm holding my gluts or I'm holding in my shoulders, soften. Sweet, and if you're on the membership, you could probably just stay here, listen to some tunes, maybe keep stretching, but if you're on YouTube and you want to, or if you just want to move onto the next thing, we're slowly going to press the palms into the earth, lift the knees, and you're gonna roll onto the side that you did not roll on in the beginning. So, roll to the other side, find your fetal position, really hug the knees up to the chest, bottom arm can become a pillow here. And then slowly, come all the way up. Tap into that inner smile or maybe you have a real smile. Maybe you have an outer smile. Inner smile's a real smile. Alright. So, we have our inner smile and maybe the outer smile lit. We'll draw the hands to the heart. Sit up nice and tall. One last time, thank yourself for showing up here, for sharing this practice with me and with so many amazing people around the world. I do think showing up for regular at-home yoga will make a difference in our lives and in each other's lives and in the world, but I think that sometimes it can be fun and cozy. Important thing is that you show up. So, thank you so much for sharing your time and your energy with me. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath in and exhale to bow head to heart. Namaste. (upbeat music)