- What's up everyone and welcome to your 31 Day Yoga Revolution. Today is day 21 and I am ready to pump, you up. Today we practice strength. Let's get started. (lively orchestral music) Alright my friends, let's begin in a nice, comfortable seat of your choice. We're just gonna take a hot second here to tune into the breath and to settle in. So, any way you'd like to sit here, just come to a place where you can sit up tall, upright in the spine. Day 21, we're legal now, in the US anyway. Strength. So we think of a strong yoga practice, we think, ah physical muscles and we are going to have a nice, well rounded practice today, but I'd like to begin by asking you to close your eyes or soften your gaze and think of one thing that you love about yourself. Just honestly, don't hold back. No holding back, just think of one thing that you're like, I'm pretty awesome at this, or I love this about myself. Anything at all, no rules. Okay, taking a moment to think of one thing that you just love about yourself. And when you feel like you have something, anything, anything at all, it could be simply that you love that you're showin' up for yourself here in this 31 day journey. You can get really specific. It can be anything really. If it feels like it's superficial even, no, it's perfect, just whatever you landed on, embrace it. One thing you love about yourself, and then let's take a deep breath in. Big, full, full, full, full, full breath. And a long breath out. And just hold on to that one thing you love about yourself as you breathe in, notice how it makes you feel. And breathe out. Way to show up for yourself today. Let's get crackin'. We're gonna bring the palms together. If you're feeling adventurous and fiery, clap the palms together. Jai namaste. And we're gonna come forward and through all fours and to our Downward Facing Dog, right away. Take a deep breath in when you get there. And a long breath out to shake the head loose. So, the mantra today is I am strong, but not in just the physical body, or working in the physical body, in mind and spirit. So hold on to that feeling you had when you thought about one thing you loved about yourself and anchor in that feeling, that sensation as you move here in Down Dog and begin to cultivate a more conscious breath. Press away from your yoga mat with your hands. And then slowly inhale, look forward, bend the knees, and exhale, make your way to the top. Forward Fold, take a couple breaths here. Strong awareness throughout the whole body. Let it unravel. So when we become strong and aware in our inner world, we're able to move with strength and awareness in the outer world. So yes the body can be, and I would say is a reflection of that, so when we're strong in body, it's easier to move that way. But really it's gotta come from the right place, we can't just be arbitrarily building these muscles and then hope for the best. When we look in the mirror, we need to be able to feel the strength, not just see it. Okey doke, here we go. Slowly rolling up whenever you're ready. Nice and slow, I'll meet you in Mountain Pose. Connect to strong footing as you roll up. And rise up through your heart space. Lengthen through the crown of the head. And if the feet are not together, bring 'em really together so you can really feel that awareness through the feet, that strong, four-part equal standing. You might even lift the toes so you can experiment with that, and then squeeze the legs together, really together. And then inhale, reach the arms all the way up and overhead. Really try to maximize this stretch here. Draw your navel inward and upward. Find that strength, that support from within, it's energetic, it's not just musculature. So draw energy up through the front body. Ground through the back body. Squeeze the legs together. And then check it out, right away, big inhale. Exhale, bend the knees, send the hips back, Chair Pose. Do a little hair toss. ♫ I do my hair toss ♫ Check my nails Okay, open (laughs) your palms wide, energy in the fingertips. Sink a little deeper, you got this. Tuck the chin, lengthen through the back of the neck. Hug the lower ribs in, you're doin' awesome. Fabulous, then power up. Press into your feet. Reach for the sky. Root to rise here. Awesome work. And then exhale, down we go, Forward Fold. Soft bend in the knees. Strong breath. Inhale lifts you up halfway. Play around here. Make each one a little different, and then exhale, soften and bow, forward fold. Great, plant the palms. Step the right foot back. Step the left foot back. Nice, strong plank. Power up here, you got this. We're gonna rock front and back here, just really creating a nice long line from the crown to the tail. So press away from your yoga mat. Press into all your fingerprints. Reach the heels front and back, finding a nice articulation through the feet, stretching through the feet. Yes, beautiful, Downward Facing Dog. Inhale, lots of love in. Exhale, lots of love out. Hug the lower ribs in. So if you're dumping into the front body here, hug it in, hike it up and in. Contain that front body energy. Beautiful, then we'll bring the feet together and inhale, lift the right leg up high. Exhale, knee to nose, rounding through. Inhale, Three-legged Dog. And exhale, step it up. Nice, low lunge. Lower the back knee, open the chest, inhale. And then exhale, press into the top of the back foot. Send the hips back, runner's stretch or half splits. (exhaling breath) Now here we go. Move from your center, strong and steady as we roll through. Come to a nice, low lunge, curl the back toes under, and then we're gonna pivot and open up, Warrior II. Strong focus out past your right fingertips. Strong lower body. And find that ease, the grace in the upper body. Peaceful Warrior, keep pressing into the outer edge of your back foot. Engage the left inner thigh. Inhale, reach right fingertips forward, up and back. Inhale in here, stretch. And then exhale, right elbow to the top of the right thigh. Extended side angle or you can take the right fingertips all the way down and inhale, open up towards the sky. Take a deep breath in here. Maybe the left fingertips reach forward. And then exhale, all the way back down to your low lunge. Keep the back knee lowered or lifted here. Inhale, open the chest. Then exhale, plant the palms. Step it back, knees can be on the ground here. We're gonna lower all the way to the belly. Big breath in. Exhale, lower down. Here we go, inhale, Cobra lifts you up, open your heart, keep the neck nice and long. And then exhale to release. Curl the toes under, press up to all fours or plank. Big breath in. And then exhale to your Downward Facing Dog. Great, take an inhale in here. Long breath out. Inhale, walk the feet together and lift the left leg up high as you breathe in. Exhale, knee to nose, press away from your yoga mat, round through the spine. Inhale, Three-legged Dog, building strength. And exhale, step it all the way through and lower the back knee. Loop the shoulders, inhale, open your heart. And then exhale, send it back, press into the top of the back foot, flex the left toes. Soft bend in that knee here, half splits. And then here we go, rolling through that front foot nice and slow. Opening up through the chest. Curl the back toes under. Then move from your center, so connect to your core here. As you lift the back knee, pivot on the back foot, and open all the way up to Warrior II. Strong Warrior. So strong lower body, strong foundation. We're working with our opposition here, lifting the front body, grounding through the back body. Peaceful Warrior, here we go. Left fingertips reach forward. Keep that front knee over the front ankle as you reach up and back. Inhale, find length. And exhale, here we go, Extended Side Angle. Left elbow comes to the top of the left thigh or maybe all the way down in time. We inhale, reach for the sky. Variations here of course are welcome. Using your breath to find expansion and using the exhale to gain stability, strength. One more big breath in. Then use your exhale to come all the way back down to your lunge. Inhale to look forward. Exhale. Connect. Hands to earth. Send the left toes back. And we flow. Belly to Cobra or Chaturanga to Upward Facing Dog, moving with your breath. Inhale, open the chest. And exhale to your Down Dog. You can also take a Child's Pose here. We're gonna be here for three breaths. Count them. Listen to them. (exhaling and inhaling) Wonderful, on your next inhale, look forward. Soften through the knees and make your way to the top. Big inhale lifts you up halfway. Find a lightness as you lengthen. And then exhale, soften and bow. Root down through the feet. Squeeze the legs together. Inhale, reach for the sky. Yes. And exhale, hands to heart, bring it all together. Close your eyes, observe the breath here. Life is good. Open the eyes, take a deep breath in. On the exhale, send the fingertips forward, squeeze the legs together, and send the hips back, Utkatasana, Chair Pose. Find a lightness, make it your own. You are strong. And we need to be strong, but we need that strength to really come from a good place, to come from an honest place, to come from within, so that we can use our strength to do good in this dang world! Am I right? So take one more breath here, maybe sink a little lower, lift your toes. Lengthen tailbone down. And then here we go, power up, squeeze the legs together, press into the earth. Inhale, rise up. Yes, I am woman, hear me roar! Just kidding and exhale, floating it down. (laughing) Have some fun. Big breath in lifts you up halfway ladies and gents. And exhale, soften and bow. Bend the knees, plant the palms, step the right foot back. Step the left foot back, Plank Pose. Great, this time really reach the heels towards the back edge of your mat. And reach the crown of the head towards the front edge of your mat. Beautiful, building strength. Now in this Plank Pose, you might start to tremble, you can always lower the knees, even cross the ankles for style points. So just stick with me, don't give up. Can also come onto the forearms, forearm plank, but it's here that I'd like you to send your gaze straight down, really fire up, whole body experience. Fire up your breath and think of something else that you really freakin' love about yourself, anything at all, anything at all, anything you can think of. And when you have it and do not give up until you have it, when you have something, do you have it? You can release all the way onto the belly. Hallelujah, slide the hands in line with the ribs. Press into your feet and inhale, Cobra. And exhale, pressing up to all fours, Child's Pose. Three breaths here, count them out. Listen to the sound of your breath. (inhaling and exhaling) Pro tip, I wipe a little lavender or a little oil on my yoga mat so each time I come to this relaxation or this pause, instead of my mind swirling off, I can stay present with my breath, contemplate my sensations. Hakuna matata. Enjoy the essential oil on my mat. Okay, here we go. Coming back up to all fours. Take your time, take your time. You're doing great work, awesome work. We're gonna come to Downward Dog. Move at your own pace. And we'll walk the feet together. And inhale, lift the right leg up high. Exhale, knee to nose. Inhale, right leg up high. Exhale, step it up. Lower the back knee. This time keep the back toes curled under and inhale, sweep the arms all the way up and overhead. Big breath in. Big breath out. Send the hips back, big breath in. Half splits. And then check it out, Warrior II. Back toes are already curled under here. We transition, move with your breath, Warrior II. Strong focus. Peaceful Warrior, inhale, reach forward, up, and back. Take a deep breath in. Then exhale, Extended Side Angle. Inhale to find expansion here, breathe. Then exhale to come all the way back down. Plant the palms, step it back. You can go straight to Downward Dog or you can move belly to Cobra or Chaturanga to Up Dog. In your Downward Dog, take a deep breath in. Nice cleansing breath out through the mouth. Walk the feet together. Inhale, lift the left leg up high, stick with me. Exhale, knee to nose. Inhale, lifts you up. Exhale, step into your low lunge. Lower the back knee. Move with care, inhale, back toes are curled under. Reach the fingertips up high, big stretch, opening. And exhale, rain it down. Send the hips back, left toes towards the sky. Back toes are curled under, here we go, moving from a place of connect, rolling through that front foot, pivoting on the back foot, and then sweeping the arms all the way up and overhead, finding that nice, strong focus as you send energy out way beyond the physical body, way beyond the fingertips. Peaceful Warrior, inhale, reach forward. Draw a big line up and back. Inhale in. Exhale, Extended Side Angle. Take your time. Use the inhale to find expansion. Exhale to draw things in, connect. Find stability, one more breath. Then exhale, pivot on the back foot. We come back to our lunge, inhale. And exhale, plant the palms, last call for a Vinyasa, take it or leave it. You do not have to take it. Moving with your breath. Finding what feels good. We'll meet in Downward Dog. In Down Dog, take a deep breath in. Big cleansing breath out, empty out. Walk the feet to the middle of the mat. Hands to the feet. Bring the feet together, really together. Inhale lifts you up halfway, find length. Exhale to soften and bow, beautiful. Root to rise here, really squeeze the legs together, reach for the sky. And exhale, gather it all in, hands to heart. Deep breath in. Long breath out, observe your breath here. Maybe you can feel your heart beat. Awesome work. Bat the eyelashes open, open your eyes if they are not already, and we're gonna take the feet pretty wide. So wider than hip width apart. And then turn your toes out and adjust your footing so that you can really get your bum, your center underneath you, so save this for the club, and for now (laughs), we're giving you mobility and strength for the club. So draw it in. Like I go to the club anymore, okay, like I ever went to the club. More on that later, lift up through your heart. So the main thing is we want to kind of take this arching of the back and take all this wonderful work we've done thus far in our exploration to really connect to our core, so we're not just creating tension in the core muscles, but again, working full body awareness. For some, this'll be a no-brainer. For others, you're maybe new to that awareness, that area of the body, awareness, moving, and just one moving part. It's tricky, take your time. Or if you're healing from an injury. Inhale, exhale, bend the knees, let them track your toes. So you might have to walk your heels in. We're coming into Goddess Pose or Horse Pose, but I feel like Goddess Pose is more powerful. So it can be God or Goddess Pose. In my foundations of this video, we call it God or Goddess Pose. So hands are gonna come at the heart if they are not already, and as always, you can decide what sort of flavor you want. You want something soft to marry with this strength down below or do you need the power of the elbows going out left to right to really support you here? This is tricky and we're not gonna be here long, so breathe with me, imagine you're leaning up against a wall, great for posture, great full-body strengthener. Inhale in, smile, tap into that inner smile, and exhale, sink a little lower, you got this. Then slowly release the hands to the tops of the thighs and then we're gonna keep the feet pressing into all four corners, keep the feet where they are and draw the left shoulder into the center line. Big stretch. Tuck the chin into the chest and lengthen through the neck here and maybe you can even sink a little lower. Breathe into your belly, great for the digestive organs. Careful you're not gripping in the toes. One more breath. Then inhale lifts you up. And then exhale, right shoulder in. Press into the outer edges of the feet, you got this. Tuck the chin, make sure you're lengthening through the neck. Breathe into your belly, so feel your belly, your gut get some good air here. Someone please quote me on that. And then exhale, draw it back. Don't give up. Bring the palms together. Actually bring the right hand to a fist and left palm covers the fist and we sink a little lower, a little lower, a little lower, a little lower, and then release. (exhaling breath) Hallelujah. Walk the feet together, heel-toe. Or you can hop it together. Or you can do a little dance. And we're gonna walk or dance back up to the top of the mat. Big inhale to reach for the sky. Clap the palms together, the celebratory namaste, Jai. Take a Forward Fold on your exhale. Great work everyone, big inhale. Exhale to release. Plant the palms. We're actually just gonna step back to Plank only to lower the knees, step back. And then lower the knees. And then center yourself on the mat, 'cause we're gonna come into Pigeon. Alright, and when you're ready, extend the right leg out long. And then reel it in for your One-legged King Pigeon. So, take a look at your left foot. Really root it to the ground. And then walk that right foot out to a place that feels good or not, and then try to stack, so get up off of that thang! Get up off the right hip. (laughs) And move mindfully, thoughtfully, gently. See if you can open up through the front body. I would say this is the number one posture that I just kind of forced myself into as a young person, so be really mindful here. When you start opening up this posture and many others, but since we come to this one a lot in public class, from a place of connect, oh, it's so great. So prop that right butt cheek up, that right hip as much as you need, and we'll find length, and then if you haven't already, you have the option here to come to the forearms or all the way to the forehead. And then try to stay rooted in that back foot and keep an awareness, a brightness, some energy in your right foot. And breathe. So sometimes the strength comes from the letting go. And sometimes, as I'm sure we've all experienced at some point, the letting go of what really is no longer serving you, maybe letting go of what is perhaps keeping you from feeling strong day-to-day, ironically takes strength. It can be tough. So as you breathe here in this posture, have courage, garner the strength to let go, to allow for that release. Let go of any tension in the neck and the shoulders, the forehead or the brow. And try to keep that all soft and delicious as you slowly make your way back up, and plant the palms on the left side of your yoga mat. Then you can stay here or you can walk the fingertips off the mat, so this is bus stop one. Bus stop two. Walking off the left side of your yoga mat. Or, pressing into the right hand, we'll find length through the front body, grounding through the back body, and look back and maybe just reach, look at your left toes, or you might bend the left knee mindfully and grab either the left ankle or the left toes. Breathe deep here. Draw the navel in and up. Find that hugging of the lower ribs. Breathing deep here. And then everyone, wherever you are, take one big, expansive breath. And then use your exhale to release with control, either walking up, releasing the left foot down. And together we'll walk all the way back to all fours, take your time. If you want to sway the hips a little back and forth here you can, draw figure eights with the pelvis, always feels good. And we'll take to the other side. Left leg extends. And then we'll reel it in. Set yourself up for greatness here mindfully. Acknowledge, honor how this side is different, and then listen to your body, listen to your breath. Maybe you stay upright today feeling that big stretch in the front of the right hip. Or maybe we take it down. Stay present. Stick with it. Maybe close your eyes. And find strength in letting go. Alright my darling friends, take a deep breath in. Remember to release any tension that you might be adding to the jaw or the forehead, the neck or the shoulders here as you come up. Hands come to the right side of the mat. And you might just embody the pose here, breathing. Or you might walk the hands off to the right side of your yoga mat. Or you might look back at your right toes. Find that place of connect before you begin to bend that right knee, and either grabbing the ankle or maybe in time the tops of the toes, maybe in time we hook, but just really be present, draw the navel inward and upward. Find that lightness. Inhale. And then use your exhale to slowly release with control, with grace. And we'll all come back to center. And back to all fours. Take the hips a little left to right. Maybe some figure eights with the pelvis. (clicks tongue) And then we'll walk the knees up a bit, cross the ankles. And come through and all the way to our backs. So we're wrapping up here. Bring the feet as wide as your yoga mat. And the knees are gonna fall to the right. We'll interlace the fingertips, bring 'em behind the head. Inhale in, and exhale, lift up. Inhale in, lower. Exhale, lift up. Inhale in, lower. Exhale, lift up and look up. Inhale, lower. Exhale, lift. Keep it going, keep the elbows wide. So we're getting a nice little tapping of energy to the obliques, while also enjoying this internal rotation of the hip after your Pigeon. Take a couple more here. Don't even worry about counting, just move with your breath. Then release to center. Windshield wiper the legs through. You're gonna keep your feet as wide as your yoga mat and then over to the left. And if you want more restorative, you just chill here. Alright, otherwise big inhale. And exhale, lift. Inhale, lower. Exhale, lift. And you're really contracting in the side of the abdominal wall here. Exhale, navel draws in. Inhale, lower. Exhale, lift. Keep the elbows wide. Link up with your breath. We'll do a couple more. And release, release the arms. Bring the knees back to center, and we're just gonna slowly, slowly inch the toes all the way out, and when you arrive there, get centered on your mat. And we'll just windshield wiper the toes back and forth, back and forth. Then open the toes out, open the arms out, snuggle your shoulder blades underneath your heart space. Take the deepest breath you've taken in all day. And as you exhale, close your eyes and think of something that you love about yourself, just one more damn thing. What's something you love about yourself? And if for some reason you can't think of anything, then answer the question, what is something I can love about myself? That I could? And then just be open to that. Pumpin' up the self love today, gettin' strong. Draw your left hand to your heart. Right hand to your belly. Take a deep breath in. And as you exhale (exhales) relax, you're done. Thank you so much, my friends. Super strong, so amazing to be on this journey with you. I'm so honored. I'm just so, so, so excited. Thank you so much for your conversation. Please, if you're willing, share with us some of the things you love about yourself down below. This is part of the practice. Comment down below. Tell us something, one thing, or all three things that you love about yourself, and we'll lift each other up so that we can be strong in both body and mind and spirit. You're the best, take good care. Namaste. (lively orchestral music)