- What's up, party people

and welcome to 
Yoga with Adriene.

I'm Adriene, and that's Benji,

and today we have 
yoga for diabetes.

So, this is great 
for anyone with diabetes

but this is also 
great for everyone

because we're stimulating
healthy functions in the body.

So, hop into something comfy,

grab a buddy if you have 
one, if not, don't worry,

and let's get started.

(upbeat music)

Alright, my friends, 
let's begin in a nice,

comfortable seat, super chill.

We're gonna ease into this

because we really 
need to take our time

to tap into the breath 
for this to really feel good

and be worth our time.

And use it to feel good

and the tools of yoga, 
I truly believe in them.

They're very 
powerful for healing

and for transformation for
creating change in the body.

So, it's worth taking our time.

So, if you're kinda 
like begrudgingly doing this

or maybe you thought 
you didn't have time,

let's just start 
off nice and slow

so that you can 
find what feels good.

And again, just make the 
most out of this practice.

Really, as I like 
to say sometimes,

get your money's worth.

Which, it's a free video,

so I don't know what 
that means, but you know.

So, right away, if you notice

that it's a bit difficult 
to sit up nice and tall,

that means maybe your spine
is collapsing back, like so.

See if you can pause the video

and sit up on a pillow 
or a blanket or a towel,

maybe even a couch 
cushion sometimes is nice.

Because we want to create 
length up through the spine

so that we can start to 
establish this awareness.

This is gonna be super 
important as we work today

because we're 
not just considering

major muscle groups, right?

We're considering 
all the systems

of the body that work in tandem.

So when you feel like 
you are finally working

at least towards a nice 
length up through the spine,

maybe consider head over 
heart, heart over pelvis.

Now, go ahead 
and close your eyes.

Trust me,

trust yourself.

Trust the video.

And start to notice your breath.

Creating a strong relationship 
with your breath is...

Such a healing tool.

And it's not just 
some kind of yoga,

spiritual mumbo jumbo, 
this is science.

We can change 
the nervous system,

we can change the way our...

We can literally 
change the makeup of our body

just by creating a strong
relationship with our breath.

So, just start to notice 
your breath, take your time.

And see if you can 
really try to find stillness.

Try to allow your energy

to be still.

Even if the world around you

or maybe your 
location is a bit distracting.

See if you can just do your best

to come into this present 
moment, notice your breath.

Sit up nice and tall.

And as you're ready, 
begin to breath a little deeper,

a little more full.

Good, then we'll 
draw the chin to the chest

keep breathing nice full breath.

And start to 
activate the upper back body.

So, you're bringing your
shoulder blades together here.

Imagine pinching a pencil

between your two 
shoulder blades here.

So, you're drawing 
the chin to the chest,

and you're activating 
the upper back body.

And you're gonna 
take your right hand

over to your left knee,

and your left fingertips behind.

Feel free to peek at 
me whatever you need.

That's the process 
of this exchange.

So, it's all good, 
anytime you need to look.

And then come 
back chin to chest,

and then take 
a deep breath in,

and then exhale, 
activate the upper back body.

Tuck the chin, and 
then slowly roll the chin,

up, up, up, lengthen 
through the crown of the head,

and ooh, voila, 
you're in a twist.

Now, breathe 
into your belly here.

Like, breathe into the 
deepest depths of your guts

and sit up nice and tall.

Keep trying to 
activate the upper back body

so we're not rounding here,

letting the shoulder 
blades go left to right,

but we're really activating, 
activating, activating.

Inhale, lift up 
through the armpit chest area,

and then exhale, 
come back to center.

Great, take a deep breath in.

And exhale chin to chest.

Activate the 
upper back body here.

Notice where your thoughts go

and see if you can just 
allow yourself this time

and this space to 
be with your body,

trusting that this process

is worth it, 
that you're worth it.

Alright, and when you're ready,

left hand over 
to the right knee,

right fingertips 
come behind your bum.

Again, activate 
the upper back body.

So, a tendency is to just let

the upper back body 
really round forward.

So, counter that a 
bit the best you can.

And then here we go, we'll begin

to tuck the chin, tuck the chin,

and slowly begin to tuck 
and lift it all the way up.

So, it's really nice to 
come into a twist from here

because we're really working
from the base of the spine up,

moving from our 
center rather than

just cranking into the pose.

Your organs, everything's 
just so much happier

and more involved in the process

when we work in this way.

It's about integrating
everything, and if you're like,

"I don't know what 
you're talking about, Lady,"

that's okay, just 
trust in the process.

Trust that I know what I'm
talking about, that's hilarious.

Take a deep breath in, 
really breathe into your belly.

What's up, Benji?

Lift up through the open chest.

Again, notice if 
you're leaning back

or the upper back 
body is rounding forward.

So, that's why I'm being like,

"Lift up from the armpit chest,
here breathe, breathe, breathe."

Sweet, and then slowly 
release everything back.

Awesome, flip the palms up,

bring the index finger 
and thumb together.

We're coming into 
a little mudra here.

And then activate your biceps
and show off your muscles.

No, I'm just kidding.

Relax your arms, 
and lift your heart.

Alright, this is super 
challenging, even for me.

I've got a lot 
going on right now,

I have a lot to 
get through today.

But see if you can 
afford yourself this time,

and it is a practice 
to just close your eyes

and soften the jaw and listen
to the sound of your breath.

Here we go.

(softly breathing)

Beautiful, and then take
that listening of your breath

with you into this next movement

you'll bat the eyelashes open,

keep listening to 
the sound of your breath

all the way through, 
you release the mudra,

and just slowly 
extend the legs out long.

Now, you're gonna maybe 
wanna keep the knees bent,

it'll just depend on your body.

Maybe straighten the 
legs out super long, maybe not.

Take a deep breath in here,
and then as you exhale,

press in your heels and flex
your toes up towards the sky.

Bring your hands to the earth.

If you're seated on 
a blanket or a block,

take it with you here, 
sit up nice and tall.

We wanna come out 
of the spine here,

we're wanting to create a
posture that is working for us

and for our systems 
and not against us.

So, not collapsing and 
crunching on everything.

But we find a lightness, right?

We kind of let go from 
that heaviness that way.

And if you're 
new to the practice,

this can be difficult, 
this can feel like work

and then you feel like,

"Aw, I'm a loser because
sitting up like this is hard."

But you're not, 
dude, you're amazing.

And hats off to 
you for taking the time

to practice like this, 
so big breath in.

We call this Dandasana.

We're creating a staff, 
Staff Pose is what it's called,

or danda, Sanskrit for stick.

This stick or staff, hey, yo!

That runs up and down the spine.

So crown to tail, so 
just to give you that image.

And the knees can be bent here

if the hamstrings are 
still working their way

to a nice long muscle.

They're tricky, take 
one more deep breath here.

And then here we go, activate
the upper back body again.

Draw the shoulder blades 
together, lift your chest,

and then try to keep that, as
you maybe bend the knees here,

and slowly send 
your heart forward.

Now, release your 
fingers, reach forward,

reach forward, reach forward,

and then let 
everything go forward fold.

Relax the head over, 
in time you can work

to straighten the legs.

Wanting to create nice,

stretch in the lower back body.

So, don't fear 
bending your knees

as generously as you need.

And then close your 
eyes, just go inward.

Listen to your breath.

(softly breathing)

Awesome, tuck the 
chin, slowly roll it up.

Fabulous, we're gonna 
lean back, cross the legs,

then shift your weight 
forward, come onto all fours.

Nice and easy here, 
you're gonna drop the elbows

down to the ground, and 
then there's a tendency here,

the elbows are gonna 
wanna come out or come in

so, try to keep them in right
underneath your shoulders,

and try to be 
really diligent about that.

Then claw through the fingertips

and the reason why 
we wanna keep the elbows

right underneath the shoulders
is to keep a nice alignment

to open up the 
chest and shoulders,

but also to help flush or 
move the lymphatic system.

So, keep your 
elbows pinned to the ground

as you begin to slowly 
walk your knees back.

We're coming into 
a half Downward Dog.

The elbows are gonna wanna move.

So, take your time melting 
your chest to the ground.

Maybe the forehead 
comes to the mat, maybe not.

Everyone, please lift the 
hip creases up super high,

find a tilt in the pelvis,

and we come to Heart To 
Earth Pose, Anahatasana,

or again, like a 
half Dog, Puppy posture.

So, the heart is 
coming below the hips

and the head is 
coming below the heart.

And we're clawing 
through the fingertips

and we're pressing 
into the tops of the feet

for one more deep breath in.

And a long 
breath out, let it go.

Nice, once again, tuck the chin.

Slowly begin to lift the 
ribcage up, come forward.

You're gonna shift your weight
all the way onto your belly.

Sweet, and the 
elbows never moved.

So, we're here in Sphinx Pose.

So, you can make 
adjustments as needed

so that your belly 
and the tops of the thighs

and your pelvic 
area feel comfortable.

But then find a 
strong foundation.

So, press that which 
is touching the earth

into the mat really 
firmly with consciousness

and we're not just letting 
our body kind of spill out,

but really engaging, 
whatever that means to you.

And then slowly tuck the 
chin, and lift the chest.

And open, open, open 
the front body forward.

So not crunching the 
back of the neck here,

but I'm keeping nice awareness
in the back of the neck

so it's nice and long.

Take one more 
deep breath in here,

and then exhale nice 
and slow, don't rush this.

Simply turn to look 
past your left shoulder.

Now as you do this, press
into your right elbow firmly

and feel that stretch in 
the right side of your neck.

Lengthen through the 
crown, one more breath.

Then slowly bring it back 
to center, deep breath in.

Then exhale, turn to look 
past your right shoulder.

As you do this, firmly 
press into your left elbow.

Breathe, breathe, breathe,

and then bring it 
back to center, awesome.

Take a little rest in the arms

by creating a 
pillow for your forehead

by bringing the palms 
just one on top of the other,

and then you're 
gonna lift the toes up,

peek at me if you need to.

Feel a nice little 
stretch in your quads maybe,

and then you're 
just gonna rock your toes

a little left to right here.

(softly breathing)

So, letting go of 
the stress or tension,

easy breezy shapes like this,

although they might 
seem awkward at first,

they're really, really good

for just letting go 
of stress and tension.

When you think of this 
shape, we're kind of here,

the same sort of 
shape that we created

when were a child, 
carefree, innocent.

Sweet, alright, we're 
gonna release the toes down

just for a little stability.

We're gonna bring the hands now

in line with the ribcage.

And as you're ready, press
one foot down in the other,

loop the shoulders, suck the
elbows into your side body

and inhale, lift up Cobra.

Exhale, forehead kisses the mat.

Twice more, 
inhale, lift up, Cobra.

See if you can softly 
smooth out any tension,

any gripping, 
and exhale, release.

And this time, tuck the chin
as you rise up, inhale, Cobra.

And exhale to 
release, beautiful.

Now, stay here, forehead's 
gonna come to the ground.

Alright, with the 
hands firmly pressing in,

right in line with the ribcage,
suck the elbows in,

Bend the knees, 
lift the toes up.

Here we go, now with 
the toes lifted this time,

we're gonna find our 
Cobra, tuck the chin,

press into the pubic 
bone and inhale, lift.

Now, here's where you 
have to bring the breath,

breathe into your belly.

Send lots of 
breath and awareness

into the back body, the kidneys.

Keep the elbows 
squeezing in here.

Careful not to crunch 
in the back of the neck.

Now, for the 
last cycle of breath,

we might reach and grab,

top of left foot, 
top of right foot,

loop the shoulders 
and inhale.

Kick the feet out, 
out, out, lift the chest.

Breathe into the 
belly, you got it.

And then release.

Awesome work, slowly.

We'll bring the hands 
back underneath the shoulders,

toes to the earth, 
press back up.

Walk the knees in 
towards the center,

and you can either 
just sit for a moment,

nice comfortable 
seat, or Child's Pose.

Forehead comes to the earth,
we round into a little ball.

We relax the shoulders 
as the fingertips reach

all the way back.

Just close your eyes 
here for three breaths,

in and out, 
in and out, in and out.

(softly breathing)

Nice, big fresh breath in,

(softly inhales)

then exhale (softly exhales)

slowly rise back up.

Sweet, awesome work.

So, we're gonna 
just, nice and easy,

we're gonna come to our bum.

So, you're gonna swing 
legs to one side, any side,

come to the bum.

And then we're gonna 
send the right heel out

and we're gonna 
bring the left foot

to cross over the right leg.

Now, this is optional, if 
that's unavailable to you,

if you're like, "Oh my gosh, no,

"my insides 
feel too compressed,"

just keep it nice and open here.

Otherwise, cross 
that left foot over.

Find lift here, try to keep
your full left foot pressing

into the earth, 
and when you're ready,

reach the right 
fingertips up super high.

Find a stretch in 
the right side body,

this feeling of length and lift,

and then try to maintain that

as you bring your 
right elbow across,

then find a little bind here.

Go ahead bring your 
right hand into a fist here

and just create 
a little pressure.

So, you're 
pressing the right elbow

into the left knee and 
then you're pushing back

with your left leg.

See, you create a little 
fulcrum, a little base here

for your twist and the 
left fingertips come back,

and you breathe into your belly.

Right toes towards the sky.

You can start to 
release the grip on your fist

unless you felt really 
cool there, then stay there.

Maybe you even 
take another mudra.

Otherwise, 
opening through the palm,

we're wanting to activate the
upper back body once again.

So, this would be the 
opposite of that here.

Activate upper back body.

Imagine again pinching a pencil

between your shoulder blades.

I feel like that image is
kind of annoying but it works.

Draw the 
shoulder blades together.

Take one more deep breath here,

and then exhale, slowly release.

Left leg goes out long, 
right knee comes in.

Alright, again, 
you can stay here,

breathing deep, breathing deep.

Or, cross it over, 
let's give it a try.

If you cross over, really work,

and it might take 
some time to press

through the full right foot.

So, I see this all the time.

Even in 
experienced yogis, it's like,

press down through the earth

so that you have a 
place to lift up from.

Create a full body experience.

Alright, and here we go, 
left fingertips reach up high,

reach, stretch, create length,

that feeling of 
lift and lengthening.

And then maintain that as you
go inward, left elbow comes.

And then we're not just like,

"Okay, check it off the list."

We're creating a 
little energy here,

pressing the 
arm against the leg,

and then again, back 
with the leg against the arm.

Go ahead and take a fist here
to create some energy there.

Right fingertips come back

and we don't lean 
back as much as we want to.

We wanna sit up nice and tall.

Sit up on a 
blanket or block as needed,

flex your left 
toes up towards the sky,

and then activate 
the upper back body here,

and breathe downward, 
breathe into your belly.

Inhaling lots of love in.

And exhaling lots of love out.

Inhaling lots of love in.

And exhaling to 
come back to center.

Rock 'n roll, 
inhale, exhale, let it go.

Unravel the legs and come 
onto your back, nice work.

When you get there,

feel your spine nice 
and supported by the earth.

You're gonna bend the knees

and you're gonna walk the heels
up towards your fingertips.

So, you're gonna reach back,
see if you can kind of gauge

where your 
fingertips and heels meet

and then plant your feet
there, toes pointing forward.

And create a little 
energy between the inner thighs

by lifting the tailbone up.

So, you can feel this 
little rock of the pelvis,

it's kinda sex-ay.

And you're gonna 
scoop the tailbone up,

squeezing your 
thighs towards the midline.

So basically, we're 
engaging the lower body,

and when you're ready, press
in all four corners of the feet

and slowly begin to continue
that line of the tailbone,

lifting all the 
way up, up, up, up.

So, a lot of us know this shape,

but it's how we get 
there that really matters here,

how we integrate 
the body, move slowly,

working our way all 
the way up the spine,

breathing deep, pressing 
the palms into the earth.

Don't let the neigh--

knees goes out, the 
neighs, (mimics horse neighing).

Or don't let your 
knees come in but keep them

nice and stacked, or 
at least feeling that way.

And then continue your 
journey all the way up.

And now, here we're doing 
a different chin to chest,

but still that same lock.

You might 
interlace the fingertips

and slowly open up 
through the chest a little more

by walking the shoulder 
blades once again together,

and then lift, 
keep lifting the hips up

but think about 
sending them forward.

Not just up and 
back but forward.

Try to reach the 
bottom of your glutes

towards the backs of your knees.

Alright, now try to 
lift your chest to your chin

and now your chin to the sky.

You should feel really awesome
in the back of the neck.

One more time, you got this.

Keep pressing into the 
ball joint of your big toes,

lift your chest to your chin,

and chin to the sky, awesome.

Nice and slow, so, 
resist the slingshot effect,

as my friend, Marnie, would say.

Release the fingers slowly

and then get a 
little massage in the spine.

This is also great for 
your glutes, your booty,

which is also great for 
your back, so nice and slow.

Lower down nice and slow.

Nice and slow.

Nice and slow.

Tight, bring the feet together,

soles of the feet come to kiss,

you open the knees out wide,

Supta Baddha Konasana, 
Reclined Cobbler's Pose.

Just let your hands rest gently

on your ribcage or you belly,

close your eyes and breathe
nice, long healing full breaths.

That's right, Benji.

Alright, we have one 
more posture to do together.

So take a deep 
breath into your belly.

Feel your hands 
rise as you breath in.

And then exhale, 
release the hands,

bring them into the 
outer edges of legs.

Bring the knees together.

So, we're gonna go into a
little bit of a Plow variation.

But this is a deep stretch

so it's more about 
me showing it to you

as somewhere to work toward.

So, here we go.

I'm gonna start by first hugging
the knees into the chest.

Scooping the 
tailbone up, maybe find soft,

easy movement 
here that feels good

so that you know you can 
always rock and roll here.

Okay.

Just like I did 
before with my Bridge Pose,

I'm gonna bring the feet down,

I'm gonna press the 
palms into the earth,

I'm gonna bring 
my shoulder blades

underneath my heart space, 
and then nice and easy,

I'm gonna claw 
through the fingertips,

I'm gonna lift up off the heels,

just press in the toes,

and I'm gonna use that 
liftoff to bring the knees up

and use the same 
momentum to keep the toes going,

anchor my navel down, 
and continue to press up.

So, maybe the toes can go 
behind the head, maybe not.

These pockets are wack, sorry.

Oh yeah, this is awesome.

Okay, sorry, and 
then breathing deep,

breathing deep here.

You might activate 
the upper back body again.

So we're drawing the 
chin towards the chest,

activating the upper back body,

hands will maybe 
come to the lower back,

or stay firmly planted.

Now, I wanna keep it real.

If you're watching right 
now, going, "Yeah right."

I'm showing you this so 
we can work towards this.

Another variation 
here that might be nice is

to bend the knees, bring them
by the ears, and breathe deep.

'Kay come out of the posture,

you're gonna engage navel 
to spine, Uddiyana Bandha,

hands on the earth 
or on the lower back,

and you're just 
gonna slowly come out of it

just the way you 
did in Bridge Pose.

Nice and slow with control, 
coming down the spine.

And then afterwards, 
you'll open the knees,

come to Supta Baddha Konasana.

Hands rest gently on the 
belly, or on the ribcage.

Okay, so that was a lot,

but that's like where 
we are headed in this.

And and I think it's really...

It's really kind of like my
number one for this practice,

what I would 
recommend working towards.

Maybe I'll talk about 
that more in the description

or in the community boards, but.

Alright, so here in 
Supta Baddha Konasana,

if you wanna go ahead 
and give that one more try,

I'll give you some 
time now to do that.

Maybe you repeat a Bridge Pose,

instead of the Plow 
pose, or the Halasana.

But if you wanna go there,

maybe you take a 
second now to check it out.

Otherwise, we'll just stay in
that Reclined Cobbler's Pose.

And then if you're in Halasana,

activate your core, lift 
and come to the mat slowly,

and slowly, nice 
and slow make your way

all the way back down.

We'll meet our friends 
with our knees nice and wide,

hands resting on the 
ribcage or the belly.

Take a deep breath in, everyone.

And this time, exhale 
out through the mouth.

Come on, don't be 
shy, big breath in.

(softly inhales)

And exhale out 
through the mouth.

(softly exhales)

Interlace the fingertips, 
bring them behind the head.

Extend the thumbs, give yourself
a little neck massage here.

So now the arms and the legs
are mirroring each other.

Again, use your 
thumbs to really press

into the back of 
the head, the neck.

And close your eyes and 
imagine you're somewhere

that you just 
love that's like total

just relaxation and peace, 
restoration, rejuvenation.

Nice, and then 
when you're ready,

slowly release the hands

and extend the 
legs out one at a time.

Turn the toes in and out.

In and out.

And then create, make 
any adjustments you need

to create a little more space

and ease the neck and shoulders.

Rock your head gently 
side to side if it feels good.

And then soften 
through the fingers and toes,

soften through the 
skin of the face,

and then take the deepest
breath you've taken all day.

(softly inhales)

And use your 
exhale to relax the weight

of your body completely 
and fully into the mat.

(softly exhales)

Awesome work, my friends.

Thank you so much 
for sharing your time

and your energy with me and
the Yoga With Adriene community.

I hope that you 
stick with the practice

so that you can discover 
the powerful tools of yoga

in the way that I have or in
the way that your body needs.

And yeah, 
share this with someone

you think might enjoy it.

And I'll see you next time.

Namaste.

(upbeat music)