- What's up everyone and
welcome to Yoga With Adriene.

I'm Adriene and that's Benji.

And today we have 
an awesome deep stretch

total body yoga for you 
so this is gonna be amazing

if you're wanting to increase
flexibility in your body.

This is gonna be 
really awesome if you're

wanting to stabilize the joints,
everybody needs that.

And this is a really 
great time to just really

be with your breath, 
focus on alignment,

and balance out whatever it is

you got going on in your life.

So hop into something 
comfy and let's get started.

(upbeat music)

Alright my darling friends, 
let's begin on our backs.

Come to lie down.

And right away 
when you get down there,

go ahead and 
take a deep breath in.

And as you exhale hug 
the knees into your chest.

And again take a deep 
breath in and as you breath in

a little deeper a little 
more conscious breath here,

right from the start think of
your breath in, your inhale,

as an expansion and 
then think of your exhale

as a bit of a contraction, 
navel drawing in.

So there's the cycle of breath

that we're gonna play with today

for our deep stretch practice.

That is inhale expansion and
exhale contraction.

I'm joined today by my 
assistant, Benji, Guru Benji.

Thank you so much 
for being here Benji.

Alright we're just 
taking a couple of full breaths

to settle in, squeeze the
knees up towards your chest.

Notice the 
quality of air in the room

or wherever you're practicing.

And so we'll work 
today with the breath

to create a full 360

all encompassing experience,

that includes not just the
body, not just the physical,

but the mind as well 
and also your heart space.

So that's how we get 
the most out of this time,

the most out of this practice.

And then it's also a very 
generous act of self love.

So on the surface 
we have the stretch

but beyond that 
there's just so much more.

Take one more big 
breath in and then again

thinking contraction on 
the exhale we're gonna peel

the nose up toward the knees.

Now you may get nowhere near
your knees and that's all good.

We're working to create a 
little bit of spaciousness

through each 
vertebrae of the spine.

You're also feeling a 
nice support of the lower back.

We're starting to tap 
into the muscles of our core.

And you can stay here 
squeezing the knees up and in

or release the fingertips, 
palms faced up,

you're gonna reach 
them towards the front.

Breathing deep here, make sure
you're not clenching the face

or shoulders, nice and relaxed.

Might start to welcome 
a little bit of heat here.

Take one more deep breath in.

And one long breath out.

And then slowly release head
and shoulders to the earth.

Alright grab your right knee,

send your left 
leg all the way out.

Let it hover 
just above the earth.

Squeeze your right 
knee in towards your chest,

and then open it up just a bit

up towards your right shoulder.

And then again right 
knee towards your chest

or your figurative heart space,

and then over 
towards your right shoulder,

so you're just kind of 
creating a little compression

in the front of 
your right hip crease.

Great take one 
more deep breath in.

Exhale to release, 
left heel to the earth.

Now when you're in these shapes,

we're not just 
hanging out, holding, waiting,

but especially today 
with our deep stretch

we're using the 
breath to move it forward,

a little deeper, 
allow it to unfold.

So think 
expansion on the inhale.

And a bit of 
contraction as you breathe out.

Now close your eyes 
and go ahead and soften

through the toes and the feet.

And again big inhalation in.

And nice long exhale out.

Great one more here, 
big breath in.

And long breath out.

Fabulous now again 
activate your left foot,

so press into your left heel,

and activate your right foot,
press into your right heel.

And this time you're 
gonna grab the right hand,

or take the right 
hand and you're gonna grab

the inner arch 
of your right foot.

Now if that doesn't quite,

if your hand 
doesn't quite make it there,

just grab the inner calf 
muscle here, the inner leg,

you can just grab here.

Creating a little one 
legged stirrup posture here,

so here kick your 
right foot up towards the sky

and then anchor 
your right shoulder down.

If this is way way way 
way way too much in the hips,

just lift your left 
knee and firmly plant

your left foot on the ground
for a little more stability.

Breathing deep, inhale.

And exhale.

Opening up through that right
hamstring, big inhalation.

And long exhale.

One more time big inhale.

And long breath out.

Awesome now 
take that right foot,

we're gonna cross it over 
the top of the left thigh.

So just crossing over,

creating a little 
figure four shape here,

peek at me if you need to.

And then press the 
palms down into the earth,

connect to your 
core and slowly lift

the left leg up 
high towards the sky.

Now left leg does 
not have to straighten,

but both feet are 
nice and active here.

Inhale in, exhale lower it down.

Inhale.

Exhale, navel 
draws in, lift it up.

Now I'll sync you up 
with the breath, here we go.

Inhale to lower.

Exhale to lift.

Inhale to lower.

And exhale to lift, press the
palms into the earth firmly.

One more time, inhale to lower.

And exhale to lift.

Awesome bend the left 
knee, thread the needle,

right fingertips go in 
through the hole, interlace,

and we'll squeeze the legs up
towards the chest, the heart.

Keep the feet active here and
now just nice full breaths,

you got it.

Start to let go 
of the day thus far.

Anything that you have 
coming after this practice

or on the agenda,

see if you can allow 
the mind to be at ease,

just give yourself permission
to be really present here,

I know it's tricky and tough
for someone to tell you that.

But maybe it's what you need.

Just a little time and space,

to stretch and 
be with your breath.

Alright releasing 
left foot to the ground.

And slowly taking 
it to the other side.

So what we'll do is 
we'll start by lifting

the left knee in 
towards the chest, squeeze,

and send the 
right leg out to hover.

We start to tap into the muscles
of the abdominal wall here.

Breathing deep.

So if you're a 
beginner you'll start

to feel a little shake here.

If you've been on 
your mat for a while

play with the subtle body,

scoop the tail bone up, 
draw the navel down,

relax the shoulders,

play with the natural 
curvature of the spine,

finding support from within.

So there's always so 
much depth to play with here.

Breathing deep.

And then here we go, 
if you haven't already,

start to draw 
the left knee towards

the left shoulder just a bit.

This is a very small move here,

and then in towards center.

Again we're creating 
just a little massage

in the front of 
the right hip crease.

We're also challenging 
our center of gravity.

Gonna feel it in the 
abductor here, oh yeah.

Back and forth back and 
forth with the left knee.

And then take one 
more deep breath in,

bring your left knee 
back in towards your center,

so hug it in, and then exhale,

slowly release the 
right heel down to the earth.

Alright left hand 
comes to the left inner arch.

Move nice and slow here,

opening up through that hip.

So left foot, sole of the
foot now goes towards the sky.

You can bring the 
right hand to the earth

for a little stability 
or maybe on the front

of the right hip crease.

We're opening up left hamstring
up towards the heavens here.

Strong bright energy through
the toes to protect the knee.

And then I'm working again to
create a full body experience,

not isolate experiences,

so see if you can 
relax your shoulders,

see if you can let your ribcage
just be nice and heavy here,

hips nice and heavy.

And then reconnect with your
breath, find a new breath.

Again if this is too much
you can bend the right knee,

bring the sole of the 
right foot to the ground

for a little stability.

And then to 
release nice and slow,

take the hand away,

cross the left ankle over 
the top of the right thigh,

so you're opening 
now left knee towards

the bottom right 
corner of your mat.

Just take a 
second to feel that out.

If you're super tight in 
the hips all of this work

already has been 
maybe a little bit intense,

but all the more reason for
you to be here on your mat.

And also the 
reason that we're starting

nice and low to the 
ground so that you're not

having to do a 
bunch of weight bearing

work here in the beginning.

Alright take a deep breath in,

press your hands into the earth.

You can also grab the 
outer edges of the mat

if it was a little bit 
hard for you last time.

And inhale, lift 
the legs all the way up.

And then exhale 
all the way down.

Now let's sync up 
with the breath here,

so big inhale at the bottom.

Use the contraction to 
lift back up and we flow.

Inhale to lower.

Exhale to lift.

And eventually you 
wanna try to slow this down

so that you're building strength
but just do your best here

so inhale to lower.

Move in a rhythm that feels
good for you and exhale to lift.

Tuck the chin.

Try to keep length 
from crown to tail here

so it's just an awareness.

Hug the lower ribs down and in.

Use that 
contraction of navel to spine

to really lift the legs up
and hug the lower ribs down.

If you're 
starting to sweat a little

here or shake, awesome,

beautiful, welcome that.

It's a sign of being 
strong and alive, not weak.

And then slowly 
we'll release, beautiful.

Bend the right knee,

sole of the right 
foot comes to the ground,

thread the needle,

left fingertips are 
gonna go through the hole here,

hey yo and then 
squeeze the lower body

up towards the chin, the chest.

Breathe, breathe, 
close your eyes.

And breathe nice 
long smooth deep breaths.

Maybe find some soft gentle
movement in the head, the neck.

And then release, 
awesome, nice and slow release,

hug both knees into the chest.

Inhale in, exhale, 
take your lower body,

your legs, your knees, 
all the way over to the left.

Open the arms super wide,

and turn to look 
past your right hand.

Deep breath in.

Exhale, navel draws down 
to the core of the earth,

knees come through center and
take it to the other side.

Knees fall to the 
right, big stretch here,

and turn to look 
past your left fingertips,

recline twist, inhale in.

And exhale back to center,

cross the right 
ankle over the left,

grab the outer 
edges of your feet.

We're just gonna 
stretch the tops of the feet

by pointing the toes here and
lifting the heels up, up, up.

Big breath in.

We're also creating nice strong

muscles that hug 
around the joints,

so nice stable joints here, 
kick, kick, kick, kick, kick,

point the toes,

and then release and 
switch left ankle on top,

grab the outer 
edges of the feet,

and again point the toes, 
lift the heels,

and kick the feet 
up just a bit here,

we're getting a nice 
stretch in the tops of the feet,

the ankles, but 
also creating stability

around the knees, the joints.

Deep breath in.

And exhale to release, awesome.

Bring the feet to the ground,

nice and easy turn to one side,

and slowly press 
your way up to a seat.

Alright sit up nice 
and tall, legs are crossed,

ankles crossed, 
going right into it.

We're gonna bring 
the left elbow down

to the earth here nice and slow.

Hi Benji.

Benji's got some 
zenned out vibes today.

Left elbow to the ground.

So you're gonna feel 
this in the right side body,

the back body, the hip.

If this is too much 
then we'll just lift

the hand up here and come here.

Once you feel 
like you have this,

start to bring your 
breath into the picture,

and allow your right glute,

your right booty to get 
really, really heavy here.

Then notice we're 
just hanging out here

and the neck lengthen 
through the crown of the head.

Then when you're ready 
take the right fingertips

behind the right ear and inhale,

reach, reach, reach 
toward the left side.

Big stretch here, inhale in,

exhale right hand's 
gonna come right to the front.

Beautiful then take it 
all the way, thumb back,

pinky forward, all the way back,
open through the chest,

and then reach 
towards the front.

Then you keep this movement
going just a couple more times.

Right thumb back, 
reach to the side.

And your fingertips forwards, 
and right thumb back.

And fingertips forwards.

And one more time, this 
time try to really revolve,

or rotate your heart all 
the way up towards the sky,

maybe look up towards the sky, 
big stretch, big breath.

And then exhale to 
release everything.

Just take a second here, head
over heart, heart over pelvis.

Close your eyes and 
just evaluate how you feel.

Left side of the torso 
and right side of the torso.

Alright and then 
when you're ready

take the right elbow down.

This is a great one 
to kind of build focus

on sensation over your shape.

If you're just in 
extended side angle,

there's temptation 
to just really get

into that posture 
and nail the asana.

So here we are focusing on
the sensation over the shape.

The left sits bone is 
gonna wanna come up here.

So see if you can 
anchor, anchor, anchor,

through the 
power of your breath,

create more space to 
get that left glute down.

Right shoulders over 
the right elbow here.

And again if this is too much,

if we need to tap into 
some deeper fuller breaths,

and have more 
weeks of regular practice

in order to get that elbow
down then let that be the case

and lift your right hand to
the earth and take your time.

There are so many shapes in yoga

and just so many 
experiences that I have

that I just never 
thought I would have.

I never thought my body 
would have that spaciousness.

In fact people 
ask me all the time,

"Have you always been flexible?"

And the answer is no way Jose.

So use your breath here,
in fact feel the inhale,

feel the skin of your 
left lower back stretch.

Also really really 
good for the body here.

Not just your 
muscles lengthening,

but so great for the kidneys.

Make sure that you're not
dropping your right shoulder,

but keeping that 
awareness through the crown.

And then now after 
you've taken a solid moment

to evaluate, 
to notice the sensation

and to check in 
with your breath,

take your left 
fingertips and bring them

right behind your left ear.

It's more fun this way too.

And then reach out to 
the right, big stretch,

big, big, big stretch.

Keep the left glute 
heavy so you're actively

anchoring down through the
top of the left thigh bone.

And then here we go, 
left thumb pulls back, inhale.

Exhale, just take 
your arm right to center.

So you're reaching right out
in front, and then here we go.

Smoothing your left palm on
an imaginary surface here,

pull the left thumb back.

And find your breath as 
you bring it back to center,

and now continue 
this on your own.

So good for the posture.

You're gonna feel so 
awesome after this man.

Pull the left 
thumb back, breath in.

And exhale, smoothing 
your palm on imaginary surface,

reach forward.

Alright and then next time
you pull your left thumb back,

really pull it back, wrap that
left shoulder blade around,

open, revolve, 
chest up towards the sky,

maybe look up, claw 
through your right fingertips,

inhale, and exhale, come
back to center nice and slow.

Head over heart, 
heart over pelvis.

Just take a second to

evaluate, feel it out,

relax your shoulders,

lift up through 
your chest to your heart.

Great inhale in, exhale,

make your way to 
all fours nice and slow.

Tabletop Position.

Wrists underneath the shoulders,

knees directly 
underneath your hip points,

press into the tops of the feet,

and claw through 
the fingertips, strong.

Then imagine your front 
body really lifting up here

to meet your back body.

So lift everything 
up towards the sky

so we're not 
collapsing to the ground

but rather defying gravity
and lifting up with awareness

all the way to the ceiling.

Then keep that awareness as
you inhale drop the belly,

and open the chest.

Exhale, navel to spine, 
crown to the earth.

Inhale, drop the belly, 
open the chest,

move with your breath, 
exhale, rounding through.

Inhale, open the chest.

And exhale round through.

Awesome inhale to 
Tabletop Position,

bring the two big toes together,

bring the knees 
as wide as the mat,

and then send the 
hips back nice and slow,

reach the fingertips 
actively towards the front edge

of the mat or in 
my case towards Benji.

And then inhale and then 
exhale melt your heart down.

As you melt your heart down,

option here to 
really lift the palms up

and just press 
into the fingertips,

get a little deeper stretch.

And once again listening 
to the sound of your breath.

Thinking about 
expansion as you inhale.

And contraction as you exhale.

And if that doesn't 
work for you just think about

getting bigger and think 
full breath on the inhale,

and then think about 
getting softer on the exhale.

So bigger fuller on the inhale.

And then softer almost 
a surrender on the exhale.

Great now walk the 
hands off your yoga mat

and over to the 
left, big stretch.

Let the hips remain heavy here.

Inhale, and 
exhale chin to chest.

Beautiful inhale lift the chin,

walk it all the way 
over towards the right side.

Hips nice and heavy here,
inhale, reach, look forward,

and exhale, draw 
your chin to your chest.

Awesome, slowly release, 
come back to center,

press into the tops of the feet
to come all the way back up.

Walk the knees underneath 
the hips and here we go,

Downward Facing Dog, 
nice and slow,

so set your hands up 
with a meticulous love,

and then curl 
your toes the same way.

And when you're ready 
peel the tail all the way up.

Pedal it out, feel 
a nice deep stretch

through the backs of the legs.

And see if you 
can really be present,

I know it's hard to hear the
sometimes, with the sensation.

So perhaps close your 
eyes in order to do that.

Create spaciousness 
in the shoulders.

Whatever that means to you,

maybe opening the 
elbow creases towards

the front of your yoga mat.

Maybe you're turning 
the big toes in just a bit.

Maybe letting go of something
that's been bugging you.

Awesome then when you're ready
anchor the left heel down,

and send the right leg out,

and then slowly bring the right
knee all the way up and in

as you step your right foot up, 
lower your left knee down.

Fingertips are on the 
yoga mat and we just find soft

easy movement here.

Maybe walk that left knee back.

Maybe not.

Front knee over front ankle,

start to open up through 
the chest, breathing deep.

Great then plant your left palm.

You're gonna open the right
toes out towards the right

edge of your mat and inhale,

reach your right arm all 
the way up towards the sky,

big stretch here, 
opening up through the chest.

And then exhale 
bring your right elbow

all the way down to the earth,

coming into a 
lizard variation here.

So if the 
forearms don't come down

you can stay on the palms.

Right toes stay turned out,

and then I like to press into
the top of my left foot here

so I can get a deeper stretch.

Listen to the 
sound of your breath.

And then soften the 
skin of the face here,

notice where you might be
holding or clenching or griping.

Maybe allow the head, 
the neck to relax down.

And slowly make your way back
up really, really, really slow,

hands to the earth.
Awesome, nice work.

We're gonna keep the 
right hand where it is,

we're gonna look 
back to the left toes.

We're gonna lift 
the hip points back up,

excuse me, and then 
slowly we're gonna shift,

so lift the hip 
points up just to come back,

and then lift 
the left toes and see

if you can grab your 
left foot with your left hand.

If you're good here, you 
might continue the stretch

by slowly sinking the hips
back all the way up forward.

Okay, if this is too much maybe
you walk your right heel in.

Another option is 
to come against a wall

and bring your left 
foot right to the wall,

so you can kinda 
work your way back

and forth up to the wall.

We need to do a wall series.

Great, last but not least, 
you might flip the hand

so that it comes 
to the left arch here

and then just open up here,
open up through the chest,

just an option, just trying
to give different variations

for different folks.

Breathing deep, 
breathing deep, breathing deep.

Notice the awareness I have
through my danda, crown to tail.

So again a full body experience.

We'll slowly 
release the left foot.

Hands will come to the earth,
I'll curl the toes under,

lift the back knee.

Send the right toes back, 
take a deep breath in,

Plank Pose, exhale, lower 
all the way to your belly.

Inhale, Cobra, press 
into the tops of the feet,

moving nice and slow, listen
to the sound of your breath.

And exhale, release.

Curl the toes under, press
back up to Tabletop Position,

all fours and then Downward
Facing Dog, nice and slow.

Enjoy the journey, 
how you get there.

Listen to your breath, start
to get a little weird here.

Surprise yourself, 
feel your fingertips really

pressing into the 
earth, stretching.

Go there, find a 
little more depth.

And then as you're 
ready anchor the right heel

and send the left leg out.

And then slowly bring 
that left knee all the way in

as you step the left foot up,
lower your right knee down.

So just do a 
little housekeeping,

get your alignment,
find your breath,

and slowly start to 
open up through the chest.

Walk the right knee back 
if you need a little more.

And squeeze the inner 
thighs to the mid line.

Now as you're ready 
right hand comes down

and left toes open up towards
the left side of the mat.

Big inhale, think expansion,

so pull the left hip 
crease back and open the left

fingertips towards the sky,

again inhalation 
means expansion,

full, open, 
big breath, big stretch.

And then exhale, 
bring your left,

gotta bring your left hand over,

so bring your left 
elbow all the way in,

all the way in, all 
the way in and down.

Elbows come to the ground, 
forearms to the ground,

if not maybe hands on the earth,

or even fingertips 
on the ground or block.

You can open your 
left foot out a little more

if it feels right in 
your hip, breath deep.

And then pressing into 
the top of your right foot

for a little stability here.

Keeping the
shoulders full of awareness.

So that just means 
that we bring our attention

to our shoulders so 
they're no just clenching here.

But again we're thinking of
the body as one moving part.

Finding that yoga, that union.

That's what 
allows us to go deep.

And then once you feel 
like you're situated here,

for lack of better words,

soften your gaze 
or close your eyes,

and maybe bow your head,

relax the neck, and 
breathe longer fuller breaths.

Notice where your 
thoughts go and notice

how you feel in your chest
and your heart and your belly,

keeping the tension.

We'll slowly release, 
take your time, come out.

Left hand's gonna 
stay on the earth,

we're gonna bring the 
hips up and back just a bit,

so that we can safely 
come to lift the right toes up

and reach the 
right fingertips back.

Now you might not make 
it and you might have to

pad the knee or 
double up on the mat here,

but I'm on the front here 
and I'm just reaching back,

just checking to 
see if I can grab it,

if not I'll save 
it for another day.

Being up on a block 
here on the left hand

does help give 
you a little space.

And then if you feel alright
here create a little stability

by opening up through the chest,

lengthening through the crown.

Yogi's choice to drop 
the hips a little deeper.

But listen to your 
body and let your breath

be that constant barometer.

So we revolved 
the chest earlier,

you might find that 
opening bringing the right hand

to the inner arch 
here, breathing deep.

And then slowly 
releasing, come back.

Lift the back knee 
up as you're ready.

And here we go, stepping 
left toes back, Plank Pose.

Create one nice long piece
from the crown to the tail,

claw through the 
fingertips, inhale.

Exhale, lower all the 
way down to the belly.

Loop the shoulders, pull the
elbows back, big inhale, Cobra,

and then exhale, release.

Nice, press up to all fours.

Bring the knees into 
the center of your mat,

and we'll send it back balasana.

Belly to the tops of the thighs.

Fingertips all the way to 
the back edge of your mat,

rest your forehead on the earth

and allow your shoulders 
to get really heavy here.

Awesome, slowly take 
your time coming back up,

bring the hands in front, 
walk the knees out,

and actually let's 
go ahead and turn to,

come to the side of our mat,

or rather longways on the mat.

So your hands 
will come off the mat

and your knees 
will stay on the mat.

And then you're gonna 
walk the knees out just a bit.

Little bit wider than the hips,

and you're just gonna check
out how you're feeling here.

And then if you feel good 
you're gonna open the toes

right to left and 
we're gonna slowly come

into a little 
froggy variation here.

Maybe you come onto the elbows.

And the breath is so 
very, very, very important here

as you drop the 
heels down to the earth.

Then you can use a block or
pillow here for your forehead

or your elbows if 
you wanna do this,

outside of this practice but
just breathing deep,

we're not gonna 
be here for long,

so breathe, breathe deep.

Some people will be 
able to go a lot deeper here,

but just take your time.

Notice what comes up.

And then take the last 
three, four, five breaths

to go ahead and close 
your eyes and allow the head

and the neck to relax here.

Keep the feet active please,

just a little 
energy in the toes.

Lots of 
awareness in the shoulders.

Breathing deep.

And then this is when you
wanna give up before it's over

so stick with it for one more
cycle of breath, you got it,

you got it, you got it.

Alright from your core 
strength navel draws up,

and that's what brings 
us out of it nice and slow,

pressing into the palms, 
walking the knees back.

Alright curl the toes under 
and for just a moment

you're gonna send the 
hips back on the heels,

and you're gonna use the palms

to walk up, up, up, 
up, up the thighs.

And you just knead the 
top of your hip crease here

just a couple of times.

Sweet, awesome, 
we're gonna come forward,

you're gonna walk 
the right knee in front,

you're gonna 
pick the left knee up,

and you're 
gonna cross it around.

So if this is new for you,
take your time, peek at me.

We have the right 
knee in front of the left.

Then I'm gonna bring my 
toes as wide as the mat,

so you'll come back to 
face the front of your mat.

And here we go sending the
hips back Gomukhasan, Cow Legs.

So I love coming into 
this shape from all fours,

it helps me quite a 
bit so give it a try,

keep the toes active, 
send the hips back.

And then you can stay here,
fingertips reaching forward.

You can also tuck the chin.

Maybe you bring the 
hands behind the back,

clasp opposite elbows, 
open the chest.

Maybe hands come to the arches.

So whatever variation 
you're choosing today,

make sure you are syncing 
up with your breath here.

Give the thinking mind a 
break now, and just breathe.

Our practice is almost done, 
you're doing amazing.

Bringing peace and 
harmony to the body

because, well, you deserve it.

To come out slowly 
reach the fingertips forward,

lift your center up in space,
send your heart forward.

Then nice and easy we'll
unravel, come back to all fours,

reset, you can take a 
Cat-Cow here if you like.

And we'll take it to the other
side whenever you're ready

by bringing the 
left knee forward,

lifting the right 
knee up bringing it behind.

And finding your Gomukhasan,
Cow Legs on the other side.

So take it nice and slow, 
keep the toes awake.

Notice how this side 
is perhaps very different.

This is such a great 
shape even though it can

be a little bit of a bugger,

because if you do 
a lot of activity,

like you put a strong 
load on your body a lot,

like say you play a sport or
you do active strength training

then it's great for you.

But it's also 
great if you don't,

if you just sit 
at a desk all day,

and you're wanting to bring
more activity in your life,

this is just a win win for
me in my opinion, Gomukhasan.

So get down low.

And find the variation 
on this side that works,

that feels good for you today.

And once again give 
your thinking mind a break.

Literally listen to 
the sound of your breath

and welcome peace and 
harmony and spaciousness

to your body, to your mind.

You deserve it.

From your center, 
so from your middle,

so you're not just pressing
your hands into the earth,

but it's coming 
from a real place.

Again, create a full body
experience, begin to roll up.

And this time from 
here unravel the legs,

we're gonna take 
them nice and wide.

So you might, depending on where

you are in your 
room or your space,

or maybe you're on the 
beach, if you are, awesome.

Just gonna take 
the legs nice and wide

and so you can 
stay facing forward

or you can bring it to the side.

And if you're like me 
I used to try to always

like prove something, 
I'd like wanna show

I could do the splits.

Back up off just 
a bit, back up off.

And take the toes 
up towards the sky,

and the thigh 
bones nice and heavy.

And then fingertips will start
to come forward nice and slow

keeping the toes 
up towards the sky

and the thigh 
bones nice and heavy.

You'll begin to come forward

and maybe you come onto 
the forearms here, maybe not.

Maybe in time you 
come lower to the ground.

I highly recommend listening
to the sound of your breath

but also finding soft easy
movement here that feels good.

Just keep those 
toes up towards the sky.

Thigh bones nice and heavy and
you'll be nice and safe here.

Keep breathing 
deep, eventually letting

the crown of the head relax.

And maybe even the 
corners of the mouth

begin to lift a little bit here.

This is our last stretch so,

see if you can 
really bring the yoga part.

Listen to your body, listen
to your breath, your spirit.

For me, deep 
stretch is not just about

oh the deep stretch the muscle,

it's about creating 
depth in practice,

waking up to the 
experience that is your,

body and breath synchronizing.

Your nervous system,

calming, slowing down.

Everything.

Take a second if you haven't
already to close your eyes,

and just witness the 
unfolding as you breathe deep.

Softening through the jaw,
relaxing through the shoulders.

Finding a fullness and 
expansion as you inhale,

and a softness, a surrender,

maybe the heart 
melting down as you exhale.

Notice how by just 
sticking with it here,

you already begin 
to create more space.

And if the mind is strong today,

just know you're not alone.

That's where you 
are and that's what

you're working your way through.

Strong mind.

Slowly bring your 
awareness to the space

between your 
navel and your spine,

and from there begin to 
slowly make your way back up.

Awesome work, bring the 
legs together nice and slow,

and come to lie 
flat on your back.

Bring the feet as wide as your
yoga mat, and let the knees,

so don't hug your 
knees up to the chest,

but keep your 
feet on the ground,

we're doing something 
different than before.

And allow your knees 
to fall to the right,

so you're creating 
like a 90 degree angle,

or what feels like a 90 
degree angle with the legs.

Breathing deep, let 
your hands just rest gently

on your belly or your ribs.

And then windshield 
wiper over to the left.

Nice long smooth deep breaths.

Go ahead and 
bring it back to center.

And send the legs 
out long one at a time,

arms out gently by your side.

Snuggle the shoulder blades
underneath your heart space,

your chest, and take the deepest
breath you've taken all day

all morning, noon or night,
whenever you're practicing.

Use your exhale to 
relax the weight of your body

completely and 
fully into the mat.

And close your eyes.

And see if you can soften
everything, relax everything.

Take a second to 
notice how you feel.

You did awesome work today.

Repeat this 
practice regularly to witness

the unfolding and 
to grow your practice.

So a lot of times 
these heavy vinyasa classes

need the backup of a 
nice in depth stretchy,

slow breath 
pranayama focus practice,

so repeat this one regularly,

stay here as long as you can,

otherwise start to wiggle
the toes, wiggle the fingers.

And bring the hands 
together and we'll bring

the thumbs right 
up to the third eye.

The light in me recognizes
and honors the light in you.

From my heart and Benji's heart,
to yours, namaste.

(upbeat music)