- Hello, and welcome 
to Yoga With Adriene.

I am Adriene, and today

we are going to 
lean the Reclined Twist,

which is like, a 
full body massager.

Really great for the lower back

and overall, a really nice,

calming, cooling posture.

So hop on the mat and 
let's learn Reclined Twist.

(upbeat music)

Okay, so, for Reclined Twist,

we are going to start, surprise!

On our backs, reclined, yay!

So, I'm gonna come to a 
flat back position here,

and rest the 
soles of feet on the mat

just for a second.

Take a deep breath in.
As you exhale,

relax the weight of 
your body into the mat.

And then, a little 
two-for-one here,

I'm going to 
press up off my toes,

hug my knees into my chest,

wrap the arms around the
shins, and just take a second.

Any time I can work this one
into my yoga practice I do.

And rock a little 
side to side here.

Just checking in with the back.

Kind of massaging 
the lower back, here.

Even checking in 
with the shoulders.

Sometimes I use 
this as an opportunity

to crawl my shoulders 
away from my ears.

Just create a little space.

Feels good.

And then I'm ready to rock.

So here we go.

I'm gonna inhale,

reach my fingertips 
up and overhead.

Nice and easy breezy.

And then exhale 
bring them to the side,

left to right.
Kind of a Texas T, y'all.

We say y'all here,
Texas T y'all.

Then I'm gonna 
play a little piano.

So I know this sounds cheesy
but just hang with me.

I'm going to press 
into all 10 fingerprints,

so just one by one here.

And I do this, 
just to kind of bring

my awareness all the way out.

So I'm not just keeping it,

a select focus here, right?

Yoga is about 
expanding the awareness

to all parts of the 
body and even beyond.

To infinity and beyond!

It was too easy I had to do it.
I'm sorry, okay.

So I play a little piano here,

all 10 fingerprints rooting.

And then I'm gonna 
connect to my center

a little subtle 
body movement here.

By bringing my attention 
into the core, the belly.

So, again, this is just a tiny,

kind of, energetic, internal,
woo-woo, (chuckles) focus.

So not a big movement,
but just imagine

drawing your bellybutton, 
your navel, down

and scooping your tailbone up.

So that your lower back becomes

super yummy flush with the mat.

Now I'm ready to twist.

So I'm gonna inhale in.
Deep breath.

And on an exhale 
I'm gonna melt my knees

towards the 
right side of the room,

or towards the 
right side of my mat.

I'm gonna move 
nice and slow here,

keeping the back of my 
neck nice and long here.

Chin tucked into chest.

Just noticing the 
sensations as I fall in

to especially that first twist.

Checking in with 
the body, the spine.

Taking a deep breath in,
and then exhaling.

The weight of my legs

completely to the 
right side of the mat.

This already feels 
really yummy on my lower back.

My belly's already 
getting a nice squeeze

like a wringing of the sponge.

Couple of action points.

To go a little 
deeper into the twist,

or just to check in 
with that full spine

from the crown of the head
to the tip of the tailbone,

I'm gonna notice 
that my left shoulder

starts to peel up a little bit,

which is sassy and stylish,

but to get the 
most out of the pose

I'm gonna send 
my awareness, my intention,

down through that left shoulder.

So essentially, 
I'm pinning my left shoulder

down to the earth.

Now, if my left shoulder

doesn't come all the 
way down to the earth,

then that's okay,

I'm gonna be patient 
and kind to myself,

as the yogic teachings describe

and encourage us to do.

And just let 
that be my intention.

So even if it doesn't come
all the way down to the earth,

those are my intentions.

By bringing my awareness 
into that left shoulder,

I start to get more of a 
sensation though my twist.

Now I can take 
my right palm here,

and use it to 
guide my left thigh

a little bit 
deeper into the pose.

So I'm pressing down 
through left shoulder,

guiding my legs 
a little further,

a little deeper, 
gently into the twist.

Breathing deep 
into the belly here.

And then finally 
there's the option

to turn the head here,

turning onto the left side

looking past my 
left fingertips here,

to just go a little 
bit deeper into the pose.

Couple of nice, long, 
deep breaths, here.

And then to come out,

I'll take a deep breath in.

And on the exhale, unravel,

coming back gently, 
nice and easy through center.

Noticing the 
sensations in the back

as I come through and 
transition to the other side.

So inhaling in.

Exhale, melting the knees now

to the left side of the room,

or the left side 
of the mat here.

Nice and slow, taking my time.

Ooh, I heard a 
little bit of a pop.

And now, of course,

intending that 
right shoulder down.

Going a little 
bit deeper perhaps,

whenever you're ready by
taking the left palm, guiding,

sometimes I even like to just
kind of pet my thigh, here.

It's good, it feels good.
The power of touch.

Just guiding in a 
little deeper into the pose.

When I first started 
yoga and I did a twist,

I'm pretty sure my 
legs only went this far.

So give yourself a 
little bit of love and kindness

as you even move 
into this Reclined Twist.

Just give it time, 
and let each exhale

be an opportunity, maybe, 
to go a little bit deeper.

And then on an exhale, 
melting back to center.

So the great thing 
about Reclined Twist,

or any reclined 
asana for that matter,

is you have the 
support of the earth

more so then you do in 
standing postures, right?

So use it.

You can hang in the 
twist for quite a while.

If it feels good, 
breathing deep, smiling,

calming the mind, 
releasing the lower back.

For more of a core activation,

we can do a little tick-tock.

So we can inhale in.

Exhale, melt the 
knees to the right.

Then inhale in.

Exhale, melt the 
knees back to center.

Inhale in. Exhale, 
melt the knees to the left.

And inhale in, melt 
the knees back to center.

So I'm essentially 
moving back and forth.

You can move at your own rhythm,

your own pace, 
massaging the back

as you move through center.

But I recommend, 
especially as a beginner,

and for the Foundations of Yoga,

to just hang out 
there for a little bit.

Go through your checklist.

Breathe, create space.

Allow yourself the time

to go a little bit 
deeper into the pose, right?

It's usually after 
about that fifth breath

that you dissolve 
into a little space

that you never 
knew was there. (laughs)

And then of course,

we enjoy finding what 
feels good in each posture.

Reclined Twist.

Okay my friends, so 
that was Reclined Twist.

Give it a try and 
let me know how it goes.

In fact, if you're 
listening to me now

then you have 
access to other videos

of our 
Foundations of Yoga series,

give them a try.

Even if you can just 
try one in the whole month,

I'm very curious 
to see how you feel.

I'm looking for some feedback.

So let me know 
how it goes for you.

And we'll see 
you next time I hope.

Namaste.

(upbeat music)