- Howdy everyone and welcome to Yoga With Adriene.
I'm Adriene and today we have an awesome
hips and heart practice for you.
So this one is yummy, is delicious and I highly suggest
or I do suggest that you grab a dish towel or bathroom,
like a little bathroom towel or this is a cloth napkin,
even a pillowcase will work to serve as
your makeshift at-home yoga strap.
So grab your tool and then hop into something comfy
and let's get started.
(gentle music)
Alright my darling friends,
let's begin seated on the ground.
As always, if you know that it's best for you to sit up on a
little blanket or block or pillow then go ahead and lift
the hips so that you can sit up nice and tall.
In time you'll find with regular and particularly and particular
daily practice it'll be easier and easier to sit on the ground,
sit up nice and tall.
Just be thoughtful and kind and honor where you're at today.
Alright, when you're ready, we're gonna actually uncross the
ankles and we're gonna bring the left heel in and then the right
heel so that the feet are side-by-side and not crossed.
And then you can take whatever little movements you need here
so you can sit up as tall as you can and then don't worry about
the shape what it looks like if you feel little off kilter.
That's why were here to practice,
to create balance between the left and right side of the body.
So if you feel like you look like this, don't worry.
You know only I'm the one putting this on YouTube.
(laughs) Unless you're taping yourself.
Just a little reminder as we sometimes come into the simple
shapes we already start to create this narrative or this
thought line of you know, "I'm not doing it right," or
"I'm so off," or "I'm not flexible enough."
So just a little guidance to take note of that and then don't
worry about what it looks like. Just focus on the shape.
That's purely what this is all about.
Focusing on the sensation, how it feels
and it's a great reminder at the
beginning of today's practice because today's
practice is all about tending to the heart space.
We're gonna open up through the shoulders.
Kind of get you feeling nice and broad and lifted through the
chest and then also tending to tight hips.
So these two can run in tandem
and
we'll see what's up.
Starting with the breath, big inhale.
And exhale.
Next time you inhale, imagine your breath going in through
your nose and traveling down towards this heavy area.
The groin, the hips, the bum, the legs.
Just imagine the breath traveling down,
whatever that means to you.
Cool and then relax.
And then again, consider the breath going up.
Imagine it going down, (clears throat) excuse me,
down towards the hips.
Mmmm.
Awesome, then take one more deep breath in.
And this time exhale, relax the shoulders down.
See if you can sit up out of the base of the spine,
whatever that means to you, a little bit more.
So you might even feel like actual space in the lower belly,
in the side body.
Maybe you thought you were sitting up as tall as you could
but now you found half an inch more.
And then from here we're gonna grab your towel or
whatever you you picked, a pillowcase, whatever.
You're gonna take one end and the other so it's nice and taut.
And you're gonna take it right out in front.
Notice which foot is in front, or we all did the right.
So notice how the right foot's in front.
You're gonna activate those toes a bit.
So they're not soft.
But from there you're gonna sit up nice and tall and from here
we're gonna inhale draw the knuckles all the way
up towards the sky.
And then exhale all the way back down to the heart.
Inhale, thighs grow heavy as you reach up.
And then exhale.
Back in line with the shoulders, the heart.
Keep it going, inhale.
And exhale.
Each time you lift up, you can aim to gain more space in the
belly and the side body and the lower back.
And get really heavy in your lower body,
your legs, from the waist down.
Do one more, inhale, wrap the shoulder blades around.
Knuckles up towards the sky and back.
Nice and then exhale, hands in line with the heart.
Beautiful. Now we're gonna go inhale all the way up
and then over towards the side.
Bet you could guess that but you're gonna keep the thighs,
the legs really heavy.
So this is where it's important to not focus the shape
but just the sensation.
So only go as far as you feel in control.
Legs grounding down.
Hug the lower ribs in.
Breathe deep.
So I could go here but then I'm gonna lose this connection.
So staying connected through the upper abdominals,
lower belly. Legs grounding down.
Beautiful, inhale, come back up to center
and right on to the other side.
From the waist down really heavy
and then lifting up out from there.
Keeping the chest lifted, heart lifted, inhale.
Exhale, back to center and then slow and with control,
don't give up. Stay present.
Building endurance, beautiful.
From here, we're gonna slowly just bring the knuckles in to
touch each other.
You can hold on to your tool, and then release.
Open the palms, palms just rest gently in your lap.
Great, nice beautiful conscious,
dare I even say meditative breath here.
Just trying to paint the pictures so inhale.
Breath travels down and exhale, we let it go.
Inhale, breath travels down.
And exhale, we let it go.
Beautiful.
Grab your towel or pillowcase,
send the knuckles back out and here we go.
We're gonna inhale, you're gonna draw the arms all the way over
towards the left side.
Requiring you to get really heavy
in the top of the right thigh.
You're gonna think about drawing a big rainbow or a semi-circle
all the way up, and then over towards the right.
Beautiful, come back through center,
round through the spine.
Great, and then just repeat that nice,
soft, easy movement.
See if you can keep the lower body nice and heavy.
Keep the sternum lifted.
Beautiful. Bring it back to center.
Inhale, reach up. Check it out, listen carefully.
Keep reaching, nice taut towel here.
You're gonna sit back on the sits bones,
bring the toes forward and then you're gonna reverse the legs.
So right heel comes in, left leg now comes in front.
And again, we activate.
Energy in those left toes.
Activate down. Arms getting tired.
Here we go, inhale, lift up, breathe down as you lift up.
And then exhale lower, hands in line with the heart.
Inhale, lift it up.
And exhale, lower.
Heart lifted.
Inhale, reach up.
You got this, lengthen through all four sides of the torso and
exhale hands in line with the heart.
And inhale, reach up.
Beautiful, exhale.
Send the napkin, pillowcase
over towards the right.
Beautiful, inhale, come back to center.
Exhale, navel draws in for core support,
over towards the left. Legs are strong.
Inhale, lift it up.
Exhale, back down with control.
Then here we go, knuckles come in towards each other.
And then rest.
Open through the palms, soften.
Upper back body is activated.
Let the shoulders and the arms, hands, wrists relax.
Close your eyes if you dare, take a deep inhale.
Then soft, easy exhale as you breathe out.
Just letting it go.
Inhale in again.
And exhale, let it go.
Beautiful! Grab your tool, send it back out.
Here we go, we're gonna keep the lower body heavy as you slowly
draw over towards the right.
Inhale to come up through center.
Big semi-circle around and then here now that you kind of know
what you're doing, you can really exaggerate
chin to chest, rounding through.
Beautiful. All the way back up, keep it going.
Focusing on the sensation over the shape.
Peek at me when you need to. Otherwise, feel it out.
Strong lower body, heart lifted.
Pay attention to the sensation in the hips.
Cool and then the next time you're up,
inhale, look up.
And then exhale, knuckles come together,
flip the script, relax it. (sighs)
Awesome. Tuck the chin into the chest.
Maybe take a couple moments here
on your own to check in with the head.
Maybe nodding the head yes or no or maybe soft,
easy circles with the nose.
Then you're gonna take your piece of fabric,
whatever you chose, put it to the side.
Then you're gonna sit up nice and tall.
Inhale in.
Exhale, you're gonna shift back
on to your sits bones again.
Little bit of Texan came out there and you're gonna bring the
two big toes to touch.
You're gonna interlace the fingertips behind your tail.
Beautiful, so we're in a supported Boat here.
Finding a nice heart opener here
as you activate the upper back body.
If you want a little more core stimulation just release the
fingertips, bring them forward.
What we're wanting to do is keep this nice,
broad chest here.
So if you can't do that with the fingertips lifted,
just go ahead and interlace,
hold your hands behind your thighs.
Breathing deep here.
Keep lifting from the armpit chest.
You got it.
One more cycle of breath.
Fabulous then from here, we're gonna bring the feet to
the ground, nice and easy bring the fingertips back.
Palms back, fingertips are going to point in towards your body.
Inhale in, exaggerate this lift in the heart.
So find a nice, juicy back bend here.
You're gonna imagine you're squeezing
an imaginary block between your legs.
Heels are in line with your hips.
Then carve a line with your nose forward,
be gentle, up and back.
Exaggerating this back bend here just a bit more.
Nice and then if it feels okay here,
you might drop to one forearm and then the other.
Inhale, lift the chest.
Exhale, crown of the head reaches back.
But we're not letting it dip all the way back here.
Nice and in control. Building strength.
Mindfully breathe deep.
Wonderful, wonderful, inhale in, lift the chest.
Exhale, if you're on your elbows,
press back up to the palms.
And then from here we're gonna kick the right foot up and we're
gonna cross it over the top of the left thigh.
And you'll know right away.
Okay, hello.
If you need a little more then you're just gonna use your hands
here to lift the bum up and walk it a little bit
closer towards your heel.
Then from here you can turn the fingertips out.
You can keep them turned in.
You can come on to the forearms.
The goal is to maintain the lift in the heart while
cultivating this extraordinary opening in the hip, okay?
So when the heart begins to collapse here,
that's when you need to maybe take a deep breath and shift.
When you feel like the heart is lifted,
you can feel the sensation in your right hip.
Breathe deep.
And if it's too much, you can back off by creating more space
between your left heel and your left glute.
If you need as little more, scotch it on in.
Sit up nice and tall.
Remember the invitation is to keep the heart lifted as you
open hip here.
Nice, take a deep breath in.
Inhale, exhale, check it out.
Back on to the forearms,
keep the right ankle where it is.
You're gonna come all the way on to your back.
You're gonna grab your dish towel.
Excuse me while I make an adjustment.
And then from here you're gonna uncross your right leg,
bring it all the way up towards the sky.
Bring your dish towel around the back of the hamstring or the
back of the calf or around your foot.
Using a little at-home yoga strap and you're gonna breathe
deep here pressing your foot
or your calf or your hamstring into
the towel and giving it a little resistance by pulling it
in towards your body. Breathe deep here.
Yogi's choice, I'll give you the option.
You can extend through that leg if it feels awesome.
Otherwise, you can just keep it nice and firmly planted.
You gotta bring the breath. Nice, full deep breaths.
Great, take one more big inhale here.
Then exhale you're gonna take both ends of your towel into
your right hand and bring your left hand either to the top of
the left hip crease or if that leg it extended just bring it
right to the top of the left thigh, excuse me.
Yes, inhale in.
Snuggle the shoulder blades underneath your heart space.
Keep the heart open.
Present, alive, inhale.
Exhale soft bend in your right knee first before you even move,
micro-bend here.
Not so much here or here. But right here.
And then inhale, lift the chest, prominent heart opener here,
nice and easy.
And then exhale, keep the left side of the body heavy as you
slowly turn your right toes out and slowly open,
open, open, through that right hip.
You're gonna have to really move slow here
to keep that left hip grounding.
Beautiful, you got it.
And then I'm hitting the wall here which is nice so I can use
it to support me but you can begin
to straighten that leg in time.
If this is really new to your body,
you're starting to feel it, maybe feel a little tremble,
little shake, breathe deep and keep the knee bent.
Okay?
Breathing deep.
And if you're like, "Oh my gosh, I'm not even close," just
remember I've been practicing for like 15,
20 years so don't worry.
About a thing.
Breathe deep.
I swear I'm not tone deaf.
I hate it when that happens. (laughs)
Makes me want to sing it again right but it's
not about me so I'm not going to.
Inhale, use an exhale, a sharp exhale so activate an exhale to
bring awareness to your center.
So navel draws in.
If you've even done the shhh thing with me, it's that.
Shhh brings you back so you're moving from your middle back to
center and then we're actually going to go right back to where
we came, where we started.
So you're gonna bend the left knee.
Release your towel. Cross it over.
(sighs) Gorgeous.
Inhale in. Exhale, release.
We're gonna use our breath even in
the transition here to inhale.
Exhale, lift up on to one elbow, then the other.
Find that heart opener here, lift your chest.
Fabulous, then press up on to the palms,
back up on to the palms and we'll give ourself a little space
to start on the second side.
So as you're ready, fingertips in towards your body.
Press into your palms.
You'll kick your left leg up this time and cross it over.
So this one's gonna be different based on a lot of things.
Could be based on other activities you're doing.
Just based on the right and left side of the body.
Something you do regularly so stay really present.
And then here's the Catch-22 today,
normally I'd be like, "Okay, hip day,"
but heart too so lift the chest.
Actively work to lift, lift, lift,
wrap your shoulder blades around.
And then again, if you need more you can come closer.
If you need to back off a little bit,
it's a very kind, loving move to do just that.
You can experiment turning your wrists.
You can experiment with turning the fingertips out.
Just keep your heart lifted.
Breathing deep or coming on to the forearms here,
breathing deep.
Active in the toes.
Sitting up nice and tall.
Working in this way is just gonna change your game in so
many activities where we're not isolating body parts but we're
thinking of it as one moving unit.
It's what creates the coordination of a dancer,
certainly help me with my running.
Strength training.
If you do power lifting,
you know you can't just work on one part.
It has to be a whole package deal.
So that's the idea here as you
lift your heart for one more breath.
And then if you aren't there already,
let's come on to the elbows, nice and slow.
Take your time.
Come on to your back, nice and slow.
Grab your dish towel or your strap.
And you're gonna bring it behind your left thigh as you
straighten left leg, left calf or around the foot.
And just notice how this one's different.
If you went on the foot for your right doesn't necessarily mean
it's a good place to start for your left.
So you could work your way there.
Now return to the breath.
Check in with your heart space.
Snuggle the shoulder blades underneath your heart space.
If you're here, this is not a heart opener.
So see if you can work to
snuggle the shoulder blades underneath.
But if you need to back off a little maybe you do that there.
Keep the shoulders plugging in.
One more breath, you're doing great.
Fab and then bring your strap over into your left hand and
keep the heart lifted, shoulders plugging down.
Right hand's gonna come to the
top of the right hip crease or right thigh.
Can always extend that leg if you haven't already
and you want to give it a go.
Inhale in first, breathe into the belly.
Nice diaphragmatic breath.
Exhale, start bending that left knee.
Very important, soften, soften here.
So we don't want to overdo in here.
Great, inhale.
Exahle, let's give it a go.
Turn the left toes out.
Nice and slow.
How slow can you go? Nice and slow.
Paying attention to how it feels.
Turning left toes out.
Nice, generous bend in the left knee.
As much as you need.
Keep your right hand on the top of that right hip crease to
remind you to work both right and left sides of the body.
It's definitely core activation here as you keep right shoulder,
right elbow, right hip down, down, down.
And then maybe you find your edge and
you just pause and breathe deep.
Maybe in time you work to straighten that leg.
Breathing deep.
(deep breathing)
Wherever you are, take one more cycle of breath.
And then bend that knee, bring it back in.
Move from your center, your core all the way back.
Awesome work.
We're gonna release the strap, bend the right knee,
come right back to where your started.
Left ankle crossed over the right.
Yes, beautiful.
One more breath here, inhale.
And exhale, stay on your back.
You're just gonna uncross.
Left foot comes to the ground, walk your heels up.
Coming into Bridge Pose, fingertips down.
Snuggle the shoulder blades underneath you heart space,
toes pointing forward.
Great, set yourself up and then once again,
imagine that imaginary block between
your legs that is squeezing here.
When you're ready palms face down,
snuggle the shoulder blades underneath
and here we go, lift off.
Lifting hip points forward up,
knees, shins moving forward.
Nice, strong footing.
Make your way up, keep your gaze up towards the sky and
we'll interlace the fingertips behind the back.
Lift the hips up.
Again, shins forward.
Chest to chin, breathe deep.
Chin to sky. Shins forward.
One more breath, chest to chin.
Chin to sky, shins forward.
And then slowly releasing the fingertips,
nice and slow. How slow can you go?
Make your way down.
Nice, pause here for just a moment.
Close your eyes. Inhale in.
Exhale out.
Great, walk the feet together, nice and easy.
Slowly opening the knees wide.
Supta Baddha Konasana or Reclined Cobbler's Pose.
From here you're gonna gently bring your right hand to your
belly and your left hand to your heart.
Ending with this nice passive hip stretch.
Breathing deep, heart's nice and open.
Skin on the forehead is soft.
Close your eyes, soften your jaw.
And breathe.
As you're ready, take a deep inhale.
And use your exhale to gently move your fingers,
release the hands and bring them
to the outer edges of your legs, your thighs.
Press into the feet, bring the knees together nice and slow
and then we'll extend one leg out and then the other.
Take any movement that feels good here.
If you're ready for Shavasana just go right to it,
finding stillness.
You can take your dish towel, if you like,
if you're comfortable and you can cover
your eyes with it for your relaxation.
Yeah, baby!
Getting my at-home yoga practice on!
You can also get an eye pillow for your pram practice.
Alright, this is where we're gonna end today.
I love you so much.
Thank you for sharing your time and your energy with me and with
all of the amazing people around the world
who are practicing together.
Carving out time and space to be with ourselves so that we can be
the best version of that person.
That spirit.
Please let us know how you did today,
how you're feeling, anything at all in the comments down below.
I love you so much.
From my heart to yours, be well.
Namaste.
(gentle music)