- What's up, gorgeous guys and gals?
Welcome to your Yoga Revolution.
It's day 11,
and today's practice is about aligning or realigning
with what matters most.
So hop into something comfy and let's get started.
(light music)
Alright, my friends, let's begin on our backs today.
Hooray.
Come on down.
Feel your back, your spine
supported on the earth.
Go ahead and keep the knees bent,
bring your feet to the ground,
and just take a second to feel
the earth move. (laughs)
I did that yesterday, too.
I must need to listen to that song.
Okay, press your feet into the earth.
I want to take a quick moment to say,
thank you so much for being here
and for sticking with this.
Today is a great practice to align or realign with
why you started this journey.
So, let's take a big inhale,
nice, fresh breath in through the nose.
And as you exhale, just relax your shoulders
and feel your back melt into your yoga mat
or into the ground.
You can rest your hands gently wherever,
just really thoughtful with where you place your hands.
Inhale deeply.
And then, again, just use a big exhale
to let go of the day thus far, relax your shoulders
and feel your spine melting into the earth.
One more time, big breath in,
activating a bigger, fuller breath here.
And relaxing the shoulders as you breathe out.
Awesome.
We're gonna lift the right toes up,
then the left toes up,
and we're actually gonna grab the inner arches of the feet,
so take your thumbs to the inner arches,
the knees will open wide.
If this is tricky for you,
you'll just do one leg at a time.
We're gonna take the thumbs to the arches
and just give yourself a little massage,
but thoughtfully, mindfully so we know we're
not just focusing on the arch of the foot here,
but we're starting to open up through the hips,
keeping the shoulders relaxed.
So if you have to reach here, that's okay,
maybe you do one foot at a time so you can keep
awareness, a little bit of relaxation in the shoulders.
So today is an alignment-based practice,
but it's a metaphor, y'all.
This whole, you know, Yoga Revolution is not
about the poses, it's about using the poses, the tools
of yoga to access,
to tap into something deeper
that we can use, not only within our yoga practice,
but off the mat.
So, a holistic approach.
So we'll focus on alignment today,
only as a means of discovering
kind of where we're at and
hopefully to use this opportunity to align
or realign with why you started this 31 day yoga journey.
So, starting with the feet, little massage,
opening up through the hips, feeling supported by the earth.
Throughout today's practice, I want you to continue the nice
long, deep breaths that we worked on yesterday,
in through the nose and out through the nose.
Then when you're ready, we're gonna
take the hands down to the outer edges of the feet
and, slowly, we're gonna kick the legs up,
elbows will come in, and we come to Happy Baby.
Now, if Happy Baby is a little intense for you
first thing in the practice, maybe it's early morning,
you'll just do one leg at a time.
Okay, a couple breaths here.
Maybe you open the knees out.
Maybe find soft movement with the foot.
And then remember the thoughtfulness,
the mindfulness here,
considering the body as one moving part.
And this is particularly important
when you go to public classes, right?
So your teacher, the instructor is there to guide you.
It's not the end-all be-all, you have to really be present
in your body to get the benefits of this practice,
the holistic approach.
Plus, I think it feels better.
So here we are, you'll find some soft, easy movement.
Hopefully, if you're working one leg at a time,
you've switched to the other leg by now.
And if you're pretty flexible, work on the
opposition of kicking the feet up to the sky
and drawing the shoulders down to the earth.
We'll take one more full, loving breath wherever you are.
And then use an exhale to release.
Bring the hands to the backs of the thighs
and let's rock and roll.
Rocking all the way up and down the spine.
And see if you can move with your breath even here.
And then when you're ready,
really thoughtfully place yourself in tabletop position,
find your alignment, stacking the bones,
really building strong foundation from the ground up.
Lifting up between the shoulder blades.
Engage, find places to lift and lengthen,
places to press and ground.
And then find a soft and easiness with your breath
as you breathe in deeply.
And really empty out through that exhale.
Slow and mindful inhale, drop the belly, open the chest.
Start to warm up through the spine.
Exhale, rounding through, chin to chest,
press in your foundation, press into your feet.
Notice if the toes have come in or gone out here,
keep your alignment, shins parallel.
Inhale, open your heart.
Exhale, round through.
One more time, big inhale, drop the belly.
And big exhale, navel draws up.
Wonderful, curl the toes under.
Make your way to Downward Dog,
strong in your foundation, so press into your palms,
lift the tail up.
Take your dog for a little walk, find what feels good here.
Upper arm bones rotate out.
Inner thighs rotate in.
And then take a big breath in here.
Then a long breath out.
And then slowly walk it up all the way.
Forward Fold at the top of your mat.
Keep breathing here,
nice long, smooth, deep breaths.
Feet hip width apart or flush together,
yogi's choice, just nice, mindful footing.
Bend the knees, take a couple breaths here.
And slowly tuck in the chin into the chest.
Stacking up through the spine,
we'll meet in Mountain Pose, roll up.
Stacking the spine so there's
a really strong mindfulness in the feet as you roll up.
Maybe lift the knee caps, draw energy up
through the midline, then we come into Mountain Pose.
Hands at the heart.
You, again, get to decide where
to place your energy and in what way.
So really embodying the movement.
And this will be good as we grow our practice
in the next few days, but staying present with today,
loop the shoulders, draw energy up from the midline.
Maybe you lift from the arches of the feet,
the inseam of your pants,
lifting up from the pelvic floor.
Then take a deep breath in.
As you exhale, relax the shoulders down,
tag a little weight in the elbows.
Here we go, big inhale to reach the finger tips up high.
Big stretch, really lengthen.
So make the most out of this stretch here.
Lift, lift, lift, lift the crown of the head,
press into your heels,
and then exhale, down we go,
nice and slow through the midline.
So, really slow.
Wonderful.
Bring the finger tips to the earth,
so bend your knees if you need to
and walk the feet together.
And we're gonna step the left foot back first this time,
so stepping the left foot all the way back,
lowering the left knee down,
keeping that front knee over front ankle.
Interlace the finger tips,
bring them to the top of the right thigh,
and then press all the way up 'til your head,
and your heart, and your center, or your pelvis, is stacked.
Gonna feel a nice big stretch in the left quad here.
And then we're gonna keep the left toes curled for now
as we tug the right hip crease back, finding that
connection, that alignment.
Cultivating stability by squeezing
the inner thighs to the midline.
Alright, so we are here, breathing deep.
Lifting up from the pelvic floor as if you were
to lift your left knee cap up and off the ground.
We're lifting from our center.
Front knee is over front ankle here.
Toes are pointing forward.
Now, mindfully, don't look back, so just feel it out.
We're gonna come onto the top of the left foot
and really press firmly and gain more length
as you lengthen the tailbone down.
So here's my tailbone going out.
What's up, world?
And then here's the tailbone connecting
as I press into the back foot, lengthening down.
So I use this as a way
to find length through the spine.
So, a bit of opposition there.
So press that down and lift up.
Beautiful, engaging the glutes,
lifting up so we're engaging and finding support
from within, but we're not creating tension
or tightening muscle.
So, again, working in a more holistic way.
And then when you're ready, inhale,
reach the arms all the way up.
Thumbs back, pinkies forward.
So we're dropping the shoulders down into socket.
Big breath in.
Then you might inch your toe up, front toes a little more,
big breath out, sink a little bit deeper into the pose.
Beautiful. Keep squeezing and lifting,
pressing into the top of that back foot.
Inhale in, maybe look up,
and then exhale thoughtfully, release.
Beautiful.
Plant the palms, curl the back toes under,
lift the back knee.
Inhale, right finger tips reach towards the sky,
squeezing your thighs to the midline,
big twist here, and then exhale to release down.
Gorgeous.
Plant both palms, step the right toes back.
We're here in plank for five, breathe deep.
Four.
Strong and steady.
Three.
Two.
And on the one, we send the hips up high
and back, Downward Facing Dog.
Deep breath in.
Long breath out.
Turn the two big toes in.
Inner thighs rotate towards the back edge of your mat.
Then open up a little bit so that your
index fingers are pointing towards the front edge of the
mat for today, open up the shoulders.
Yes.
Beautiful, then inhale, look forward.
And exhale, make your way to the top of your mat.
Bring the feet together, really together,
and Forward Fold.
Bend the knees, tuck the chin into the chest,
slowly roll it up.
Mountain Pose.
Draw energy up.
Lift, lift, lift up through the center.
And exhale.
We ground, great.
Palms come together.
One more time, deep breath in here.
Long breath out.
Inhale, reach for the sky.
Maximize the stretch here, press into your heels,
lift, lift, lift, and then exhale,
down through the midline.
If feet are not already together,
bring them together here.
Forward Fold.
Bend the knees, finger tips come to the mat.
And this time, we'll step the right toes back
nice and slow.
Then lower the back knee.
Keep the back toes curled under.
Interlace the finger tips, front knee over front ankle,
and we press up, getting head, heart,
and center in alignment.
So, if you're on too much of a tight rope,
you're gonna kind of close yourself off here
in the pelvis.
Open it up, give yourself some space to work. (laughs)
Tug the left hip crease back.
And we're here.
First, finding length through the front body,
grounding through the back body.
Relaxing the shoulders and tapping into the breath.
And when you're ready, without looking back,
so don't look at your right foot,
keep your gaze forward.
Again, like my mentor says, "See feelingly."
Feel it out, see it as you slowly uncurl the right toes.
Press into the top of your right foot
and use that action point to lengthen the tailbone down,
find that lift up through the belly.
It's as if you're wanting to lift your right knee
but you're not going to.
Big stretch through the right quad.
We're lifting, we're squeezing
the inner thighs for stability.
And then here we go,
big breath as you reach the finger tips all the way up.
Stretch and then exhale,
opening, finding space in the shoulders,
thumbs back, pinkies forward.
And then you might walk the front toes out.
Take one more deep breath in.
And then exhale, maybe sink a little deeper.
Front knee over front ankle here.
Press into your back foot firmly.
Squeeze the inner thighs together.
Spread the finger tips.
Maybe on your last breath, you lift the heart.
Take your gaze up and back,
and then exhale, soften, and release.
Curl the back toes under, lift the back knee.
Right hand comes to the ground,
and big inhale as you lift the left finger tips up
towards the sky, pull that left hip crease back.
Full body experience here as you inhale and smile,
and then exhale, all the way back down.
Awesome work.
Plant the palms, step the left toes back.
Plank Pose.
So, one strong line here.
Crown of the head reaching towards the front.
Heels and tail reaching towards the back.
Hips are not up or lowered, but right in the middle here.
We're here for five more.
Three, breathe.
Two.
And one, Downward Facing Dog.
Awesome work.
Take a big inhale in,
and a long exhale out.
Wonderful.
Walk your feet right to the middle of your mat.
Finger tips meet your toes, Forward Fold.
And bring the feet together, arch to arch,
nice and mindful.
Bend the knees and slowly roll it up.
Take your time.
Feel your feet out, grounding into all four corners.
And we'll roll up to Mountain.
So, working on a balancing posture here, thoughtfully,
and then paying attention to this alignment.
So, a lot of times we get stuck on alignment
as like this is the way to do things.
But, really, it's about aligning with your body,
aligning with your biomechanics, right?
Which is a little bit different for everyone.
So we take the yogasana as a guide,
and then we work within that.
So bring your awareness, shift your weight to your left foot
and slowly pull your right leg up.
Now, before you clasp it, see if you can just work
to lift the right leg, and if you're new to the practice,
we're gonna take our time building strength there.
If it's tough, no worries.
So, it took me a long time to be able to, you know,
to even lift my knee with ease.
So play here for a couple minutes,
just noticing where you're at.
And then, when you're ready, we'll catch it
and squeeze and lift from the midline.
So we're lifting up from the pelvic floor,
we're pressing into the standing foot.
Fabulous.
And then just taking a couple moments here to notice,
are you gripping in the toes?
Can you release the toes?
Can you press into all four corners of the feet?
If you fall, no worries, we just come back.
And so, yesterday, we talked about hugging the lower ribs in
and engaging the upper abs.
So find that thoughtfulness of finding support from within,
but then see if you can align, lengthen the tailbone down,
align the spine, lengthen the crown of the head.
So really make the neck long.
And so we do all these things to find balance,
not just because, ah, that's yoga.
There's the purpose here to kind of unite you
with your awesome, true self
that comes out when we feel balanced.
So we're here for a couple more breaths.
Also building strength in our standing legs
is really great for that left foot.
So if you have issues with your feet,
we often think we can't do balancing poses,
but they're actually really great for you,
really great for flat feet.
And then we'll release. (laughs)
And shake it off if you need to,
and then we'll move to the other side.
So, spreading awareness now through the whole right foot,
all four corners.
Squeezing in, lifting up through that center channel.
And then, again, see if you can start to lift up
through that leg.
And I just want to say, again, if it's tough,
way to be human, way to be here now, and,
in a couple weeks, or this time next year,
or this time next month, you might just lift that leg
no problem. So just stay present.
Honor and accept where you are today.
Eventually, we will catch that left knee and play here,
squeezing into the midline, finding balance
between the two opposing forces of pressing and lifting,
stability and ease.
Relax your shoulders, keep breathing.
And like we just did in the lunges,
lengthen the tailbone down, engage by
hugging the lower ribs in.
This is why I say, no yoga robots, right?
Is we have an opportunity to really be present
and thoughtful as we align with what our practice is,
and it's very individual.
So you use the tools, you definitely do your homework,
gain the knowledge, and then make it your own.
Alright, one more breath here, you got this.
See if you can reach the crown of your head
a little bit higher.
Grow longer in the neck.
Press away from your standing leg.
Yes, you got it.
And then release.
Beautiful, shake it off.
Now let's do a little hip circles.
One way.
Creaky old floor, you're here at this house.
Oh my god, this is perfect for align day.
This is like in alignment.
If you don't know what I'm talking about,
we'll have to talk about it in the comments down below
because I don't want to waste time now, but
things are aligning.
Okay, I'm gonna regret that. (laughs)
Okay, bring the feet together.
Here we go.
Lifting, sternum up.
So bring your hands to your heart so you can
lift the sternum up to your thumbs
just as a little reminder, I love that,
and then shift your weight to your left foot again.
And then we'll catch the right knee.
So not as holding on for dear life,
but we're gonna work, actually, mindfully,
really present with what's going on.
This is a great practice.
We're dealing with emotions, too, it's like
we don't shy away, we take on what is,
and then we catch it.
Alright, we can stay working here.
You can work on straightening the leg.
Excuse me, straightening the arms
is what they're called, sorry.
Or we'll squeeze and lift.
We're gonna reach to the inside, you can grab your ankle.
Left finger tips are gonna go
all the way out to counterbalance,
and we begin to open up,
just like we did on our backs earlier in Happy Baby.
Another option is to take the index finger,
the middle finger, and the thumb to that big toe,
wrap it around, loop the shoulders, keep your lift,
and open up to the side.
So use your left hand as if it were in Warrior Two
to pull the pinky back, relax the shoulders down.
So we're opening up through the right hip.
We're working to find a balance within,
lifting in places where we need support,
that inner lift, and grounding in places
where we need support,
finding that opposition.
So, the reason I say it that way is it's individual.
So you can lift it from the pelvic floor,
draw the navel in,
find long neck, crown.
But your body knows.
Align with what your body is telling you here.
And if you've fallen five times now, great,
awesome, that's part of the practice.
If you like, last but not least,
if you're not already there, you can begin
to extend the leg, working towards
straightening the leg in time,
really pressing the left inner thigh
in towards the center line
as you draw the right shoulder down and lift up
through the midline.
Take one more breath wherever you are.
This could just be,
you know, another day, another dollar.
I mean, the extended leg could just be something
far off in the future.
Wherever you are, take one more breath
and then let's all release and shake it off.
Sorry, it's hard to talk and do that,
and stay mindful.
So, that may never happen, that may be
tomorrow, that may be
next week, it may be seven years from now.
Just work on the sensations,
aligning with who you are and where you are today.
That's the way to be.
And if we can do this here together,
then we're more likely to do it off the mat
and kind of motivate one another to do that,
because Lord knows I'm not always in alignment.
Okay, let's bring the sternum to the thumbs,
and inhale, lift the left knee up high.
Reconnect with your breath.
And, again, you can work here, working on balance.
You can even use a hand on a chair
if you're getting frustrated,
or a hand on a wall, or on your buddy.
Working here.
So, a great way to play with the opposition is
straightening the arms so that you can find places
to lift and lengthen.
tailbone's gonna want to come out here,
the same goes for tree poses.
We're gonna lengthen it down and lift up.
To continue a little bit of play,
you might reach to the inner side of your leg
and grab the ankle, the inseam here.
Opening up, send the right finger tips out.
Pull the right pinky.
So, focus on the sensation over the shape.
Don't rush to the shape, you miss all the good stuff.
Playing here.
Notice if you're gripping onto your right toes.
And then maybe you take the fingers to the big toe,
but also honor that each side is different.
So maybe if you did that on one side,
you don't do it on this side.
But you work slowly.
To get there, and maybe you extend the leg,
or maybe not.
Opening the hips, lengthening the tailbone down.
Lift your heart, lengthen through the crown.
Breathing deep here.
Finding that lift through the front body.
And that grounding through the back body.
So, if your heart collapses,
maybe you don't extend the leg today.
So, working one full body experience here.
Wherever you are, take one more breath, you got this.
Big breath in.
We're also toning the right glute, yes!
And then exhale, slowly release, and shake it off.
Fabulous work.
Inhale, reach for the sky.
Full body stretch, give it all you got.
Exhale, Forward Fold.
Go ahead and turn to the side.
We're gonna inhale, halfway lift.
If you're in the center of your mat, it's great.
And then exhale, release.
And then bend the knees even more.
We'll bring the finger tips to the mat.
We're just gonna slowly take the feet wide.
Finger tips on the earth, toes spilling off your mat.
Then keep the knees tracking over the toes.
Press in all four corners of the feet evenly
as you slowly drop your bum, drop your center.
And inhale, open the chest, look forward.
Stay here, finger tips on the mat,
or bring the palms together.
Now the trick today is we're not sinking all the way
down into the pose, but we're building a little strength
by pressing into all four corners of the feet
and hovering here for five.
Toning the legs, the glutes, your core.
Four.
Slow count today.
Three, open the chest.
Be thoughtful with the way you bring your palms together.
Two.
And one, release.
Finger tips come back nice and slow.
Keep a mindfulness in the knees,
so active in the feet,
and we'll slowly come all the way down to our backs.
Awesome work.
When you get there, windshield wiper the legs.
Feel your spine, your back, again, supported by the earth.
We'll just rock the knees to one side and then the other.
Hands can rest gently on the ribs or the belly.
Relax your shoulders.
Life is good.
And then we'll take just a quiet moment here to,
again, align with something
that serves you in the present moment.
So you might consider why you started this journey,
or maybe you just take a moment to align with your breath,
align with love.
Really relishing in the last few moments
of this time for yourself, it's so important.
We'll bring the feet all the way back in
when you're ready and extend the legs out long.
Take the arms out at your sides, palms face up or down,
yogi's choice.
Then take the deepest breath in.
Align with something that feels good here.
Take a deep breath in,
and then exhale, let everything go.
Close your eyes.
Take a moment to rest.
Shavasana.
If time allows, you can pause the video
and return here for a couple minutes.
Thank you so much for sharing your practice with me
and with the rest of this amazing community.
I'll see you tomorrow, it's a great one.
Nice work today.
Namaste.
Aligning with what matters most.
So good.
(light music)