- Hello my sweet friends and welcome to Revolution Yoga. It's day 13, and today's practice is about opening. Let's get started. (lively orchestral music) Alright, today is your lucky day, because we're gonna begin on our backs. So come on down, find length in the neck, and let's just get settled in here with a reclined Cobbler's Pose, so bring the feet together, really mindfully, thoughtfully as always, and bring the hands to the hip creases here, and just feel the warmth of your hands pressing on the hip creases here. And if this already is like, whoa Nelly, speakin' to ya, in the sync, talk to me daddy, talk to me momma, then walk the toes out. Okay? For a little more, walk the heels in. So we're starting with a hip opener, opening up through the hips mindfully, thoughtfully, just letting a little bit of the day go thus far, spilling off and away and coming into the present moment, allowing gravity to do some of the opening here as we tuck the chin into the chest, find length in the back of the neck, and then when you're ready, lift, literally press into your head, press into your hips, your sacrum area, and then lift the chest, snuggle the shoulder blades underneath your heart space by hugging the elbows in, open the arms out like a blossoming, and then feel as you rest your chest back down, aw, this opening in your heart. So we begin with a gentle opening in the hips. We snuggle the shoulder blades underneath the heart space, opening your heart. Now feel your sweet feet either pressing together firmly or softly, so again, using that awareness of thoughtfulness, mindfulness to find what feels good and then close your eyes, be brave. And take a second to notice where you're at today. And then quietly say the mantra to yourself, I am open. I am open, ready to receive whatever the practice is serving up for me today. Maybe you open your mind, your heart to a new experience with your breath. Maybe there's something that you're holding onto, gripping onto, hanging on, that could use a release so that you could find an opening, a new way of seeing it, looking at it, dealing with it. Take a deep breath in and use an exhale to really relax here. And then keep the body relaxed and the breath slowly beginning to deepen as you rock the head side-to-side, ear-to-ear, nice and slow. Think about massaging the back of the head. Think about connecting to the subtle body, the energetic body. And think about how it feels or notice, rather, as we move through our practice today, how it feels to work on opening. And then in the same respect, you might notice when things are tight how that feels and how you respond. And definitely off the mat, we can practice the same thing, noticing how it feels when we can remain open-minded or work, practice being open to a new route, a new way of looking at things. And then alternatively noticing off the mat how it feels when we cut ourselves off or cut someone else off. Move from a place of close-mindedness, just noticing how that feels. Again, not saying right or wrong, just paying attention. Alright, bring the head back to center. Slowly bring your fingertips delicately to the outer edges of your legs. Then press your feet together. Press into the outer edges of the feet and slow and steady, see if you can see, imagine that ball and socket in the hip as you close the legs, so everything counts here. Mmmmmmm. Yummy! Then dig into the heels, lift your tailbone all the way up, and then place the lower back on the mat flush, so you really feel. Take a deep breath in, find that buoyancy that we practiced yesterday, and then exhale, navel draws down and in as you lift both knees up, moving from a place of connect. Send the legs up high. And then slowly we'll bend the knees, grab the outer edges of the feet, Happy Baby, take your time. You can do one leg at a time if it feels best, giving yourself more time and space as you open up through the hips. Now reach the tailbone towards the front edge of the mat, relax the shoulders down, find an opening in the chest, lengthen through the back of the neck. Inhale in, spread the toes. And then exhale to release. Cross the right ankle over the left, grab onto the tops of the feet, or you might even grab onto the big toe here, and we'll begin to rock front to back, taking your time massaging all the way up whenever you're ready. Activate a strong breath here. And when you're ready, we're gonna come up to a nice, comfortable seat. Draw the left heel in. No rush getting there, and then the right heel in to follow, so we have left foot in and then right foot in. And just take a moment to get situated, as am I. And sit up nice and tall. Sitting up on a blanket if you need to or rolling your mat up underneath your bum if you need a little lift. And then sit up nice and tall. And imagine you're leaning up against a wall here. Great, then inhale, reach the fingertips up. They're gonna kiss up and overhead here, big stretch. Inhale to lift. And then exhale, glue the sits bones to the ground, so send your fingertips forward, but keep an awareness on the hips, the sitting bones pressing down, down, down as you come all the way diving forward. Now, for some we'll stay lifted here, feeling it in the hip already, the right hip. To go a little deeper, you might walk the fingertips further out or come to the forearms and start to deepen the breath here. Now find places to ground here. You're thick, juicy, hey-o, quad muscles draw down. We're creating a full body experience here, so again, this holistic approach of really syncing up everything or working in a way that invites that to happen naturally, not forcing anything. You might find soft, easy movement if it feels good here. You might rest the forehead on your mat or on fists. And as you send the weight of your head forward, keep reaching back with the hips. Wonderful, then slowly press up, and bring the right heel in, left leg to follow. And big inhale to reach the fingertips all the way up. Fingertips kiss up and overhead. And then exhale, as you send it forward, keep an awareness in this center, your hips drawing down, down, down as you send your weight forward. And then start to feel it out here, palms, forearms, breathing deep, anchoring down through the muscles of the legs, finding soft, easy movement if it feels right. So we store a lot of emotion in the hips. And so you'll want to breathe deep and keep noticing, and if anything comes up, I want to invite you to be kind and gentle with yourself, but do allow yourself to feel the power of whatever is going on, and then try to stay present and focused, returning with the breath. Lean into it. Sync up with it. Be thoughtful. So just honor where you are today. Okay, slowly coming back up, just in case anything comes up, 'cause it does, be open. Alright, we're gonna move forward onto all fours, just a couple Cat-Cows to warm up the spine. You can hop right in there, really thoughtful as you move with your breath. Don't rush it. Wassup creaky old floor? Drop the belly, as you inhale, feel the expansion. And begin to play here as you exhale, rounding chin to chest. Inhale, we open through the front body. And then on the exhale, you open through the back body. Great, inhale to tabletop position. Bring the knees really wide, big toes come together. Right hand comes to the center line of your mat, and then make sure to stack your shoulder over your wrist here, and then inhale, pull your bow and arrow all the way up to the sky. Open your heart, your chest. Press into the pinky finger and that knuckle, so just press into all of your hand there and open, open, open. Press into your toes, full body experience. Lean up against that wall. And then we slowly release back down. Left hand replaces the right and we find our opening on the other side. Big inhale to open up. Remember to integrate the neck, so nice, long, beautiful neck here. Press into the tops of the feet. Create spaciousness as you inhale. And then exhale, bring it on down. Fabulous. Walk the palms out, walk the knees back in line with the hips. And then curl the toes under, send the hips up and back to Downward Facing Dog. Start to open up here in a way that feels good. Use your breath. So we integrate the pieces that we've been working on in this journey, but we come to each day with fresh eyes, fresh breath, noticing what's different, how we can support ourselves in this moment. Wonderful, big inhale in here. Exhale, lower back to all fours, back down to all fours, sorry, brain-body thing. Nobody's perfect! Okay, and come back to your tabletop position really mindful. Lovely, so everything we've learned about finding that support from within so that you're not sending any undue pressure on the wrists, upper arm bones turn out, and when you're ready, press into the top of the left foot firmly. Inhale, lift the right toes up high, we're gonna draw big circles here. You can point the toes here or flex, but we're gonna really draw big circles in the hips here one way, and then the other. Reverse it. And just notice if you're crashing into the left side of your body, see if you can keep it even, pressing into that right palm firmly, keeping length in the neck. Wonderful, then bring the right knee in, knee-to-nose, so draw the nose in towards the knee here. Inhale. Exhale, empty it out. Draw the navel up. Beautiful. Then gaze straight down. We're gonna bring the right knee all the way up and over to the right tricep. Gaze straight down. Beautiful, and then release. Woo! If you need to come off your wrist for a second, you can. Then we'll switch to the other side, starting by pressing into the top of that right foot, finding length, tabletop position. And then slowly lift your left toes up, and we'll draw big circles with that hip, nice and slow, there's no rush, considering this full body experience, so if you're nailing the circles, but you're collapsed in other areas of the body, take a second to check yoself, right? (laughs) Take the holistic approach, slow it down. See if you can honor and consider your body as one moving part because it is. Reverse the circle if you haven't already. Can hear these little birds outside, it's so sweet. And then when you're ready, draw the knee in, and take the nose to the knee. Inhale. Exhale, empty, press away from your yoga mat even more, then bring it all the way out, up and over, left knee to left tricep, you got this, gaze straight down. And then release, Child's Pose, awesome work. Bring the legs together. Swim the fingertips around and take a rest. Now's the moment to start tapping into a nice, audible breath. (inhaling and exhaling) Let each breath be like a refreshing wave just washing in and out. Enjoy this time for yourself, this practice, this journey, this body, stay open. Alright, one more inhale in here. And then use your exhale to reach the fingertips all the way up. We're gonna move towards Downward Facing Dog. Take your time. Move in a way that feels good. And then when you get there, bring the breath, anchor through the left heel and inhale, lift the right leg up high. Then bend your right knee and we're gonna draw big circles here, one way, pressing into both palms evenly. Upper arm rotation is working here to stabilize and support you so that you're not finding yourself crashing into your wrists. Reverse the circle if you haven't already, you got this. And then here we go, knee-to-nose, shifting forward. Inhale, Three-legged Dog. Then right knee to right tricep, you got this, gaze straight down. Beautiful, Three-legged Dog. Then step it all the way up into your lunge. Lower the back knee. Press into the top of the back foot. And inhale, reach the fingertips up high. Breathing deep here, inhale in. Exhale, rain it down. Half splits. Right toes up towards the sky. Pull the right hip crease back. Return to this posture, find length as you inhale. And bow the head as you exhale. Moving to Warrior II, nice and slow. Rolling through the front foot. Pivoting on the back foot, nice and mindful, so lift the back knee, pivot. Then here we go, sweeping the arms forward, up and back, Warrior II. Sink deep, you got this. Bend the front knee. Front knee over front ankle. Now notice if you're leaning forward, pull head over heart, heart over pelvis here. Pull the pinkies back, you got this. One more breath. Inhale in. Then exhale, come all the way back down. Palms are gonna come to the left side of your mat and we're gonna pivot on the back foot, come to Lizard Pose. Walk your right toes out. You can even keep the right toes turned out here if it feels good. Back knee lowered or lifted here. We're on the palms or we're coming to the forearms. Five nice, long, deep breaths here. You got this, breathing deep. So, variations here. Here. Listen to the sound of your breath. You gotta bring the breath. One more big inhale. Then use your exhale to very mindfully press back up, walk your right foot to the center line. Inhale, look forward. And exhale, step it back, Downward Facing Dog. Take a little rest here if you need, Child's Pose, or a couple long, smooth, soothing breaths in Downward Dog. Second side, right heel comes down, anchor through that right heel, so feel a nice stretch through the right calf. Then inhale, lift the left leg up high. Be thoughtful, connect, sync up with your breath, find your alignment. Then when you're ready, bend the left knee and draw big circles here. Focus on the sensations. Don't miss out. Big circles. Pressing into both palms evenly. Upper arms bones rotating away from the ears. Hug the lower ribs in. And reverse your circle if you haven't already, you got this, breathing deep. Alright, be fierce here. Stay open, you do have this. Your mind will wanna give up first. Here we go, knee-to-nose, shifting forward. Inhale, Three-legged Dog. Use your breath. Exhale, left knee to left tricep, gaze straight down. Beautiful, inhale, lift it up. And exhale all the way through and into your lunge, lower the back knee. Come on to the top of the back foot. Then when you're ready, reach the fingertips forward, up and back, big stretch here, careful not to grip onto those front toes, but just spread awareness through all four corners of the foot. You got it, one more breath, inhale. And then exhale all the way down. Half splits. Pull the left hip crease back. Left toes towards the sky. Use the inhale to find the buoyancy we've been working on, the exhale to draw the navel in. Inhale, open the chest. And exhale, draw it all in. Wonderful, here we go, big transition, rolling through that front foot. Curl the back toes under. Pivot on the back foot, Warrior II. Big inhale, press into the outer edge of that back foot strong. Engage the inner thighs as you open up, Warrior II. Strong and steady. Beautiful. Finding length down through the tailbone. Lift up through the heart. Inhale in. Exhale, sink a little deeper, just notice where your center is. Maybe you can stack head over heart, heart over pelvis. Inhale and exhale all the way back down. Bring the hands to the right side of your mat. This time pivot on the back foot and walk the left foot out. Lizard variation on this side. Notice what's going on. Breathe deep. Maybe you lower the back knee. Maybe you come onto the forearms. So you decide if you want it more active, you keep that back knee lifted and the right heel really reaching towards the back edge of your mat. To soften, lower the back knee. Everyone breathe, remain aware of your neck, your shoulders, your core. Big inhale in here. Long exhale out. Big inhale in. Long breath out. One more, big inhale. Use your exhale to slowly press back up. Awesome work. Bring the left foot back in. Your hands frame your left foot. We inhale, look forward. And exhale, Downward Dog. Deep breath in. Long breath out. Fabulous. This time, inhale, lift the right leg up high. And exhale, bring it all the way up and through for One-legged Pigeon. So we'll come onto the top of the back foot, go ahead and look back at your foot. Make sure it comes onto the ground. Lift from the left inner thigh. And then you'll either keep your right heel close to your center line or begin to walk it out, feel it out here. And we wanna come head and heart lifted. So we don't want to be sinking onto the outer edge of the right hip here, so you might need to bring your heel in so that you can come back to the midline. And big inhale to find that buoyancy, lift up, expand. Lift up through the armpit chest. And then use your exhale to contract. Draw the navel in, so we're supporting the whole body here with the breath. Maybe we come all the way down. Maybe forehead comes to the mat. Or elbows, forearm down. Keep active through both feet. Close your eyes here and breathe. Send some love to someone who could use it. Say a little prayer or listen to the powerful sound of your breath here, don't give up. Stick with it. Fabulous. Then press into the top of the back foot and slowly roll it up, nice and slow, take your time. And then plant the palms, loop the shoulders. Connect. Then big inhale in here. Exhale, draw the navel in and up. Curl the back toes under. Lift the right foot all the way back up, Three-legged Dog. Now check it out. I'm gonna soften my left knee. I'm gonna bring my right toes to the ground and then I'm gonna open up a little semicircle over to the left as I come to flip my dog here, opening up through the front body. Then I might straighten the left leg, reach my right fingertips forward, wild thing, or a flip dog variation. And then use an exhale to come all the way back down. This is optional, of course, we'll meet back in Downward Facing Dog. Big breath in. Big breath out. Anchor through the right heel. Inhale, lift the left leg up high. Exhale all the way through. Pigeon on the other side, so really take a look back at your right foot and root down firmly. And then we'll sort ourself out here with that right foot firmly pressing into the ground. Find what feels good here as you inch the left toes out, careful not to collapse onto the left hip. So if you have to snuggle a little something (laughs), a pillow or a little support there, then that might feel good. Inhale, lift your heart, lift your chest. Use your breath to really embody the posture, the stretch, the sensation. And then exhale to soften. Soften your gaze or close your eyes and take a couple breaths, really hear the sound of your breath, honoring your soul, your song, your voice, the energy that is you. We have an opportunity to get strong and toned and fit, and just totally baller through yoga, but it's not just on the surface. Some of these times that we take for ourselves, it really is worth it to listen to the sound of your breath, to listen to your song, to not take this, any of this for granted, your body, your breath, this time. Take one more big inhale in. Then use your exhale to slide the hands down, press up, big breath. And then exhale, really find your hands firmly, and then use an exhale, so wherever you are with your breath, use your exhale to curl the back toes under, draw the navel in, and lift up to Three-legged Dog. Then, if you're practicing the flip dog, you'll lift the left leg up high, then just for beginners, this is a great tip, draw the left toes to the ground, soften through your right knee and then draw a semicircle with your left toes. As you press up, remember that bow and arrow we did earlier. You open up through the chest, straighten the right leg, lift the hip points. Breathe, and we have a whole video just on this pose if you want to break it down with me. You know I got you. Big breath in, find expansion. And then exhale, all the way back to your dog. That's where we'll meet everyone for one more big breath in. And big breath out. Wonderful, come onto your knees nice and slow. And we'll cross the ankles. And then use your hands to come all the way through and send the legs out long. And send it on down home. That means come onto your back. (laughing) Oh, Adriene. But we're comin' home. So we'll send the legs out long right away here. And inhale, reach the arms all the way up for a big, full body stretch. Opening everything, walk the ankles out, spread the fingertips. Inhale in. And then exhale, float the hands down gently at your sides for Corpse Pose. Take a moment to be still. Close your eyes and try not to fidget here. See if you can really just feel your body and practice this idea of exquisite stillness. Let your head become heavy, your joints, your muscles. Then whisper the mantra quietly to yourself, I am open. And then watch what happens. Have an amazing rest of your day. Thanks for sharing your time, your energy, and your practice with me. I'll see ya tomorrow. Namaste. (lively, chiming orchestral music)