- Hi everyone.
Welcome to Yoga With Adriene.

I'm Adriene and this is Benji

and today we
have yoga for grief.

So grab a little
blanket if you have one,

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

(bright music)

Hello my darling
friends, welcome.

We're gonna begin
today's practice in

a nice, comfortable seat.

So come on down to the ground.

Take your time.
There's no rush today.

This is a nurturing
practice designed to

support you
wherever you are today.

So if you're barely
makin' it down to the ground,

I got your back.

If you have a
little bit of energy,

you just know you
need some support,

a little hug today, something
that's gonna help you move

through whatever
it is you're feeling,

I have your back.
So just take your time.

When you land,
allow your shoulders

to right away start to relax.

Just do your best and as
you're ready and willing,

go ahead and close your eyes and

allow the sound of
my voice to guide you here.

First, I'd like to welcome
you to this practice

and second, I'd like to

just admire you for showing up.

Now that you're here,
let's take whatever you need.

Working to calm
the nervous system.

(Benji sighs) Benji's nice and
relaxed and here with us

and together we're just going

to use the tools
at pranayama and yoga

to find a little support

and keep you feeling held.

So we got this.

The hardest
part is already done,

showing up, pressing play,
arriving, leaning in.

And from this point on, let's
just take one breath at a time.

So whenever you're ready just
start to deepen your breath.

You can drop your chin a little.

Finding just a soft,
easy, reverent bow.

If you feel emotion,

that's okay.
That's why we're here.

To take whatever we need and

perhaps even leave behind

some things that we don't,
that we don't need to carry.

So just gently
noticing the breath.

By simply bringing
loving awareness to the breath,

it starts to deepen.

And in any stage of trauma

we tend to hold our breath which

can create a lot of
tension in the body

and can cause all systems

to just feel a little frayed.

So nice and easy,
nothing but an a loving

awareness in the
breath here to start.

Easing in.

Checking in.

Noticing where you are today.

One day at a time.

Wherever you have
naturally placed your hands,

whether they're on the kneecaps
or the thighs if you feel like

they're really good there
and you don't want to move,

you can stay there or I'll
invite you to consider bringing

the palms
together at your heart.

We call this
Anjuli Mudra, of course.

And that's it, homies.
We're just gonna breathe.

Breathing

with loving awareness in and out
and just notice what comes up

and please know that

this practice is designed
to hold you, to hug you,

and you are safe
and we'll take it nice and easy.

So if you've become
a little distracted,

it's totally normal.

I'll just gently remind
you to find maybe

a reverent bow, head to heart.

Relax your shoulders
down away from the ears.

Best you can.

Just depending on
wherever you're at.

Remember there are so
many different types of people

practicing this at so many the
different stages of their lives

around the world
so make it your own.

But depending on
where you are today,

see if you can sit
up a little taller.

And if you can't,
no biggie, it's all good.

And then again, bringing that
loving awareness to the breath.

You don't have to force it.

You don't have to push it.

But by simply bringing
our loving awareness to it,

you might be able to catch,
catch one that you need.

Catch a wave.
Catch a big wave of breath in.

And out.

Alright, so far, so good.
You're doing great.

Take another deep breath in.

And as you're ready,
a long breath out.

And then we'll
slowly lift the chin.

Bat the eyelashes open
if your eyes are closed

and we're just
gonna interlace the fingertips.

Wherever you are,
bring the palms together,

if they weren't already.

We're gonna interlace the
fingertips and you're just gonna

take a gentle
stretch of the palms forward.

And as much as you're willing,
my loves, lift your heart up.

Take a deep breath in here,

this time we're
breathing all together.

All, you, me and all the

people around the
world practicing together,

supporting one another.

And as you breathe out you can
use that as an active cue to

just drop your
shoulders down a little bit.

You're doing awesome.

Let's do one more
breath together here, inhale.

And exhale.

Sweet. Now take your
palms press 'em forward,

big stretch in the arms here.

We're gonna take the
pinkies forward up and back.

Big stretch here.

Lifting up out of
the waistline, reaching.

Whatever is going
on in your face

see if you can
soften it, my love.

Take a deep breath in here.

Reach, reach, reach.

And then on the exhale,
break free.

Wiggle the fingertips, let
them float down to the earth.

(sighs)

Nice work.

Left hand comes to the earth.

Right hand reaches
up towards the sky.

Take a deep breath in.

On the exhale, you're gonna
take your right elbow

and just kiss it
to your left knee.

Then inhale, reach up,
spread your fingers.

And exhale,
round through, chin to chest.

Right elbow to left knee.

One more time, big inhale.
Nice and easy.

It's risky here taking this
expansion but do your best.

Inhale.

And a beautiful contraction.

Elbow to knee, chin to chest.

Great. Slowly unravel,
come back up.

Head over heart,
heart over center.

So aligning back
through the spine.

Just kind of encouraging
a healthy flow of energy

up and down the spine here.

When you're ready, right hand
to the earth and big inhale to

reach the left
fingertips all the way up.

Exhale, navel draws in.

Rounding through the spine,
left elbow to right knee.

With your breath, inhale.

Find expansion.
Move nice and slow.

As slow and as
gentle as you need.

And then exhale.

Elbow to knee,
chin to chest, feel that stretch

in the left low back.

One more, inhale.

Spread the fingers, we got this.

Expansion takes risk but we're
opening our hearts to what is

here and exhale,
last time, elbow to knee.

Beautiful, slowly come back up.

Head over heart,
heart over pelvis.

The beautiful birds are
chirping outside the window.

It's gorgeous. Let's take a
big stretch with a big breath.

Both fingertips now
reaching up toward the sky.

Inhale in here.

Exhale, float 'em down.

If you find it
hard to breathe here,

think about really using the
tool of this little vinyasa

to extend the
inhale as you reach up.

And extend the
exhale as you float it down.

And there might be one
or the other that feels

a little more difficult,
just notice.

Breathing in and
out through the nose

or in through the nose
and out through the mouth.

Finding what feels
good for you today.

And wherever you are
let's do one more round.

Let's see if we
can do it all together.

Ready? Here we go.

Big inhale to reach up.

And exhale to float
the fingertips down.

Awesome work.

Allow your hands to rest

wherever they
feel most comfortable.

Palms together, maybe palms
on the knees or the thighs.

And then just taking a moment
again to relax the shoulders

and bring that loving
awareness to your breath.

Sit up tall.

Soften the skin of
the forehead if you can.

Remember this
time is devoted to

meeting you
wherever you are today.

So it's all good.

Whatever you're feeling.

Whatever's going on in here,
don't worry about it.

Just allow.

And release.

And keep coming back to that
loving awareness of your breath.

We're gonna add a little more
structure now to the pranayama.

Do your best.

If it's not
working for you today,

you'll know why.

Maybe you're
feeling a little too raw,

then just do your best.

And if you're at a place where
you can kind of keep up

with the ratio then great.

I think this is a really
helpful tool when we're healing.

Again because we kind of tend to
hold our breath a lot when we're

either in trauma or recovering
from a traumatic event.

And then that causes us to
create more tension in the body.

And then so all
the stuff gets stored.

So it's all good.

We're gonna stay
present with what is today

and not worry about tomorrow.
Let's do one day at a time.

So we're gonna
inhale on a four count.

Let's give it a try,
nice and easy.

When you're ready,
big inhale for four,

three, two, one.

On the one we're
gonna pause for two beats.

One, two.

And now we're
gonna exhale for six,

five, four,

three, two, one.

Let's try again,
inhaling in for four.

Three, two, one.

Pause, my dear.
Retain for two beats.

One, two and 
exhale for six, five,

four, three, two, one.

Close your eyes if you like.

Here we go,
inhale for four, three,

two, one.

Pause for one and two.

Long exhale,
my friend for six, five,

four, three, two and one.

Let's do one more round,
here we go.

Inhaling for four, three,

two, one.

Pause.

Big exhale for
six, five, four,

three, two, one.

Awesome work.
Let your breath soften.

Bring your hands together.

Maybe a cleansing
breath here in and out.

And then when you're ready,
nice and slow, okay?

We're going to
come to all fours.

So take your time.

Take your time.

Come to a little
Tabletop Position.

I brought a little blanky here
with me today just for comfort

so if you did as well, you
can use it to pad the knees.

We're just going to
bring in just gentle,

loving movement to the spine
so a little spinal flexion.

Spread your hands.

Bring your knees
underneath your hip points

and when you're
ready drop the belly.

Be gentle, open your heart.

Take a deep breath in.

And on the exhale chin to chest.

Just like we did
seated earlier feeling that

stretch in the low back here.

Really pressing
away from the earth.

Contracting navel to spine.

Inhale, ride the wave of the
breath as you drop the belly.

And yeah, we open,
we expand the heart,

the throat,
the chin reaches forward.

And then after that expansion,
what is natural?

Natural is this contraction.

So finding that contraction.

Inhale, drop the belly, open.

And exhale, rounding
through the spine, close.

Pressing away from the earth.

Nice and slow, inhale to expand.

And exhale, chin to chest.

Soften and fold in.

So I find this
really comforting

and that's not necessarily to
say that you will too but I love

that our practice can kind of
teach us how to ride the wave

of expansion and contraction.

Open and close.

Up and down.

This kind of inevitable
wave that we're asked to ride.

So if you're finding 
movement a little bit difficult

or maybe even too basic,
you can give it that...

You can give it some thought.

What comes after expansion?
Contraction.

What goes up must come down.

Alright, come back
to a nice neutral spine.

You're going to bump the
hips a little left to right.

And when you bump
the hips to left go ahead

and look past
your right shoulder.

And then when you bump 
the hips to the right go ahead

and look past 
your left shoulder.

And you're just
kinda going to do this in

your own time feeling

the stretch in the side body.

Moving with your breath.

Maybe picking up the pace if it
feels right in your body today

and if not keep
it nice and slow.

Alright, stimulating some of the
internal organs here as well.

Try to keep your toes pinned
to the ground best you can.

Same with the
knuckles and the fingerprints.

Alright, then we're
gonna come back to center.

Nice neutral spine.

If you're finding it hard to
hold yourself up, no worries.

Just use the beautiful 
tools of our asana

to kind of support yourself.

So press away
from your yoga mat.

Draw your navel in just a bit.

Find your center.

When you're ready we're gonna
kick just the right foot out.

Kick, kick, kick.

Take a deep breath in,
spread your right toes.

And then exhale, 
contract, chin to chest.

Round it through.

Then from here you can use
your right hand to guide you but

you're going to step your
right foot all the way up.

Excellent.

Then front knee over 
front ankle, nice and easy.

Hands gonna come to
the heart as we lift up.

This is stop one.

Breathing deep here.

If this is too much,
keep it nice and low.

Just getting into
the hips a little here.

And then of course if 
you like, if you're ready,

so many different types of
people practicing this together

all around the
world so listen to,

it's more than
listen to your body here,

it's listen to your heart.

And if it feels right,
you can take the fingertips

all the way up.

So wherever you need to be today
be there fully and when you get

to that spot see if
you can breathe into

all four sides
of the torso here.

Feel that really big expansion

in that brave and
beautiful breath.

And then we'll release.

You did great. Awesome.

No twist here today. (chuckles)

We're gonna take
the hands to the ground.

We're gonna slowly
walk the right foot back,

right to that Tabletop Position.

Find that nice
neutral spine again.

Take a deep breath in. Reset.

Find your sweet
little support system.

This is what our
asana teaches us.

And then when you're ready,
kick the left foot back.

Feel that opening in the front
of the left hip crease first.

Find your inner support system.

You got this.
Breathe deep.

Spread the left toes and
then rounding through here.

Chin to chest.

Claw through the fingertips.

And then we'll step the
left foot all the way up.

You can use your left hand to 
guide you as much as you need.

Hands'll come to the heart first
and maybe they'll stay there.

And if you come up
and it's too much for your

body today just
stay nice and low.

Just get into those hips.

Breathe, breathe, breathe.

Use your exhale to
relax your shoulders down.

Front knee over front ankle.

Body is active.

If you feel a little tremble,
a little shake, it's all good.

Totally normal. Squeeze 
the inner thighs together.

And if you're reaching
fingertips up high,

well everyone, just take a solid
moment here to see if you can

find that breath that goes not
just into the front or the back

but the side bodies,
all four sides of the torso.

It's brave and it's beautiful.

Go ahead and give it
your best shot here now.

Inhale.

And then use
your exhale to soften.

Alright, gently
bring your left foot back.

From here we're gonna bring the
knees as wide as the yoga mat.

Inhale to look forward.

And then exhale to send
the hips all the way back.

Fingertips actively reach
forward here just to start.

Just open up 
through the shoulders,

the traps and we're gonna 
melt the heart to the earth.

Forehead to the mat.

Take a big, sweet, loving
inhale in through the nose.

And as you exhale,
melt your heart.

Now we have a little
compression on the forehead

which hopefully feels good.

If you have a blanket you can
use it or just even the firmness

of the ground should be really
nice to gently rock the head.

Perhaps a little side to side.

Getting a little
massage in the brow.

If you've been in
the grieving process,

this is gonna feel good.

I think.

Now as your thoughts
kind of pick up here,

it's totally normal.

I'd like for you to, once again,
bring the loving awareness back

to your breath and think

inhale lots of love in.

Exhale lots of love out.

Inhale lots of love in.

Exhale lots of love out.

Can bring the head
back to stillness.

We can start to soften
through the fingertips

if you haven't already.

Inhale lots of love in.

Then exhale lots of love out.

Inhale lots of love in.

Exhale lots of love out.

Benji just did a
nice exhale with that.

Then really feel your
palms pressing into the earth.

Feel that hand
to earth connection.

So feel that hand to
earth connection then use that.

Literally, feel that,
use that to lift your

heart back up nice and slow.

And then you don't really need
to look at the video for this.

You can use the
sound of my voice,

allow it to guide you,
we're just gonna come to

lie down nice and easy.

So if you have a 
blanket you can use it

to lie down on.
If not, no worries.

You can, if you're
chilly you can wrap up in it.

But go ahead and come to
the ground nice and slow.

When you get there hug your
knees into your chest and give

yourself a great big hug.

And close your eyes

as soon as you feel 
comfortable and just

feel the support
on your back body.

Feel your spine

supported by the earth.

Your yoga mat has
your back here and so do I.

And so does this community.

And this practice is here
for you whenever you need it.

Along with the
Yoga With Adriene library.

So take one more
second here to really

pull your knees into your chest.

Feel your spine supported, held.

Your yoga mat has your back.

And then when you're ready
just allow the feet to come to,

oh sorry, buddy, the
edge of your yoga mat.

Toes are gonna
turn in just a bit.

Left hand comes to the heart,
right hand comes to the belly.

If it's in your body today to
lift the corners of the mouth

just slightly
into a little smile,

please welcome that.

Lifting the
corners of the mouth.

Taking a couple

final breaths here to just

relax the weight of your body.

We have an internal
rotation of the hips here.

So belly is soft.

Groin is soft.

Knees have fallen
in towards each other.

We're lifting the
corners of the mouth.

We're supported.

And here we go. Ready.

Inhale lots of love in.

Don't think, just breathe.

Exhale lots of love out.

Two more, we got this.

Inhale lots of love in.

And exhale lots of love out.

Final breath here.

Inhale.

And exhale.

As you're ready
bring the palms together.

Thumbs to third eye.

Relax your jaw.

You can keep the
feet where they are.

If you want you can
extend the legs out long.

Just take one more
quiet moment to yourself.

And give thanks for it all.

I thank you so much
for sharing your time

and your energy with me

and your willingness
to make it beautiful.

If you need us, Benji
and I will be here any time.

Just sign on to 
Yoga With Adriene or

the Find What Feels Good 
membership and we'll be there.

I love you guys.

Take good care.

Let's whisper,

"Namaste."

(bright music)