hey everyone welcome to yoga with

Adriene I am Adriene and today we have a

sequence for your hamstrings a lot of us

could use a little extra loving in the

hammies and the whole sit bone to heel

connection so today we're going to play

with that again remembering that it's

all connected baby and we're going to

use a block if we have it if you don't

have a block you might grab a book if

you don't have this no problem but you

probably will want this which is a strap

or you can use a tie or a belt or

something long enough to go from your

hands to your toes alright so let's hop

on the mat and give our hammies some

good good lovin

okay so to begin we're going to come

onto our backs now for this sequence as

I mentioned before you're going to need

a strap or you can use your tie so grab

your piece of rope or belt or tie and

let's come to lay on slide back alright

so I'm going to bring the knees up here

soles of the feet on the mat and I'm

just going to take a second to get

comfortable so sometimes we can have

kind of so much tension in the shoulders

here that we get stuck so press into the

head pressing the elbows and lift your

chest up off the ground and draw the two

shoulder blades in together and down I'm

kind of opening up the chest area here

I'm scratching my upper lip okay and

then I'm going to tuck my pelvis in here

too so tailbone lengthens down towards

the bottom edge of the mat and I draw

the navel down just slightly so I'm just

coming to a nice open chest and I

supported lower back cool beans now I'm

going to take my strap or whatever you

have and I'm going to take it in both

hands extend the right leg up towards

the sky keep this knee bent so both

knees are bent so the left foots on the

ground for support so working at all

levels here but even if you're super

flexible it's nice to just kind of set

the tone and I'm going to be mindful on

my mat right I took dance for many years

and I can't tell you how many times I

would just like come straight to here

and I yeah yeah that's just so not so

not kind practice a human okay so taking

the strap I'm going to bring it to the

ball joint of my right big toe just kind

of take it from the big toe to the pinky

- well joint there now knee is nice and

bent here I'm just slowly slide the

right heel up towards the sky

now I might straighten the leg here or I

might keep the knee bent generously

making sure that the chest stays open

here and the lower back nice and

supported so I have the sole two left

foot here for stability I'm going to

take a deep breath in here and a long

exhale out

holding the strap of the tie in both

hands here take a deep breath in and

alongs slow release ouch cool make sure

the neck isn't too tight here chances

are you're probably looking at the video

but when you look away just take a

second to tuck the chin into the chest

and feel the spine nice and long so

especially as we work in these targeted

muscle groups or these videos that kind

of focus on one muscle group I just want

to reiterate that it's all connected

baby so we're paying attention to the

line of the spine somehow something on

my lip we're paying attention to the

full body full body experience okay

couple more breaths here we can begin to

straighten that leg maybe if that feels

good if not keep it nice and bent

let's move nice and slow breathing into

the back of that right leg next step

we're going to take the strap we're to

bring it into the right hand here so I'm

going to take my right palm clasp it

around my strap bring the left palm to

the top of that left thigh bone so I can

stay here relaxing or I'm going to begin

to slide the right heel all the way down

towards the bottom edge of the mat

finding a little opposition

energetically here so I'm pressing

through that left heel as I press

through the right so even if I don't

want to straighten this leg right away I

can energetically just kind of connect

sit bone to heel use that left palm to

just kind of guide that left thigh down

shoulders are relaxed and I breathe here

notice left toes are pointing up towards

the sky again full-body experience you

can begin to play with a little movement

here back and forth maybe even left to

right and then if you're craving a

deeper stretch we'll bring that left

foot up towards the ankle take a deep

breath in and on an exhale gently flex

those excuse me flex the right toes flex

that right foot bring the big toes

towards your third-eye

right sit bone nice and heavy here

dropping that hip into socket let's take

one more deep breath in here and a long

exhale out

sweet softly bend that right knee if it

isn't already we'll release the strap

we're going to take just a little baddha

konasana in between so bring the soles

of the feet together open the knees wide

bring the hands to the belly and chill

lower back comes up we open the chest we

breathe in and out and then we'll take

it to the other side so draw the knees

in towards the center keep the sole that

right foot on the ground for stability

again we'll move nice and slow

taking the strap into both hands we'll

catch the left foot now pay attention to

the chest and lower back here as we get

set up for our stretch breathe nice long

smooth deep breaths so the tendency

again is shoulders everything is going

to want to be here so that we can keep

this get this deep stretch here

be kind creative full body experience

work nice and slow so open in the chest

flush in the lower back keep this bent

as generously as you need so we might be

here breathing rocking back and forth

we might be here

now that you know what you're doing here

you might close your eyes soften the

skin of the face and then we can totally

just stay here or we'll move on to the

next step which is taking the strap into

the left hand here clasping with the

left palm and then slowly using the

right palm to press the right thigh bone

down as we slide that right heel down

towards the bottom edge of the mat and

we breathe

inhale you might take a nice full belly

breath here and this next inhale and on

this next exhale you might consider just

letting the weight of that left sit bone

drop down that left hip really drop into

socket here note is seeing the

sensations and using that breath for

your last breath cycle you might grab

the strap with both hands again flex the

left toes with ILECs the left the Lexx

foot the Lex Luthor foot the left foot

one

and then using it exhale will soften

through that left knee release this

little rap to the side of the mat and

hug both knees into the chest Rock a

little left to right breathe then we'll

cross the right ankle over the left to

grab the outer edges of the feet bend

the elbows left to right here take a

deep breath in breathing into the outer

edges of the hip and then we'll bring

our mind's eye or our awareness to the

space between the navel and the spine

begin to rock and roll one of my

favourite pastimes on this channel oh

nothing like watching yourself on camera

doing this but come on yeah come on you

know I'm just trying to inspire a little

fun as we massage the spine Rock a

little back and forth smile let's do one

more and then we'll rock all the way up

to seated and come to all fours

preparing for downward facing dog

there's no rush spreading the palms wide

we have a foundations for downward

facing dog so if you're interested in

kind of the basics or just going a

little deeper in this posture finding

more ease more strength

check her out okay sending the sit bones

up towards the sky to keep the knees

nice and bent here draw the shoulders

away from the ears take a deep breath in

and as you exhale begin to pedal the

feet so we drop one heel down as we lift

one heel up and then we switch nice and

easy and we switch sit bone to heel

connection and we switch good thing I

wore my leopard pants for this move and

a couple more times make sure you're not

holding in the neck here once you figure

it out with the video relax the way to

the head down and bend a little back and

forth sashing the feet and really get

your money's worth here not just the

hamstrings but shoulders drawing away

from the ears navel to the spine lower

belly in as we massage the feet press

into all ten knuckles and we're going to

take it for a little bit of a walk so

come on to your tippy tip toes

we're going to slowly walk the toes

towards the center of the map once again

we'll bend the knees super generous

belly comes to the tops of the thighs

and we grab the elbows and release the

weight of the head over so again it's

all connected so I'm not just targeting

these poor sweet little hammies but the

full sit bone to heel connection the

upper back so as everything wrapping

around here as we breathe and just check

in so you might sway a little side to

side it might be finding stillness for

you today perhaps you've already been

working on kind of creating space in the

hammies you begin to straighten the legs

draw the chin into the chest so it's

more than just kind of teaching all

levels here for me it's really about

finding what feels good and being

present based on you know what the body

is telling you so the practice is always

going to be different the stretches are

and you feel always going to feel

different it's about kind of listening

and being in the moment so take a couple

seconds here a couple seconds more to

just linger to breathe if you're new to

the practice you might experience a

little bit of a shake so soften the

knees and use your breath to smooth that

out great on your next breath in find a

flat back position well inhale slide the

palms to the shins loop the shoulders

pull the elbows back like little

grasshopper legs inhale look forward

breathing sit bone to heel connection

and exhale soften the knees and slide it

down okay great so fingertips are going

to come to the mat I'm going to slide

the right toes back into my runners

lunge take a second here to find that

sit bone to heel connection really spike

that right heel towards the back wall

pull the left hip crease back and find

what feels good little movement here as

we open the shoulders the heart forward

and then on an exhale I'll slowly soften

the right knee down if we need to we can

double up on the mat here cushioning the

right knee revealing beautiful

underbelly of my current mat just for a

little extra padding so that's an option

you can always use a towel or a blanket

too great right toes are curled under

I'm going to slowly into my

left toes towards the front edge of the

mat just a little bit fingertips on the

mat here I inhale look forward exhale

I'm going to slowly begin to pull left

hip crease back and really flex through

my left foot so not soft here but really

keeping that integrity of left thigh

bone firming and left hip crease pulling

back again we can always pad the knee

here if we need and then rather than

sending it all the way back so some of

us are used to this we're going to see

if we can keep it nice and stacked so

right knee and right hip are nice and

stacked here as I breathe I flex the

foot just like I did on my back and peel

that left hip crease towards the back

edge now we can inhale in here lift and

lengthen exhale come onto the palms if

you can and relax the weight of the head

over two more just like that inhale onto

the fingertips we loop the shoulders

lift and lengthen look forward keep the

integrity of that left foot here and on

an exhale bow and release last one

inhale and exhale fold awesome inhale

slowly rolling through that left foot we

lift the back knee up and once again we

look forward as we Rock the back toes up

to meet the front uttanasana forward

fold now this time you can experiment

the same thing feet hip-width apart you

can rock a little side to side or to

take it a step further just to kind of

experiment we're going to bring the feet

flush together now maybe keeping a

little bit of space maybe like an inch

worth between the heels so two big toes

together a little space between the

heels we inhale lift a flat back your

version and exhale release interlacing

fingertips behind the calves we bend the

elbows left to right and relax the way

to the head over now notice I'm not

slamming locking my legs here but I'm

giving it a little time in space again

considering every muscle fiber reminding

myself that it's all connected as I

breathe deep here pressing into all four

corners of the feet to take it a step

further we might grab the elbows behind

the legs and then just know that we can

also still be here

working it out so it's great especially

if you want to return to the video

there's always lots of variations ways

to experiment for me that's what keeps

the practice lovely let's take one more

deep breath in here or wherever you are

and then gently release awesome this

time we slide the left toes ease back

and come into our runners lunge

so there's SL foundations pose for

runners lunge I highly recommend you

check it out because this is a great

transition pose often we kind of blow

through just keep the legs in the knees

in particular nice and happy great

inhale look forward and exhale slowly

lower that left knee down again feel

free to pad the knee here left toes are

curled under we make sure that we stack

the left hip over the left knee so again

tendency is to kind of come here which

is where the pose looks pretty awesome

I'm like wow look how flexible I am but

I think that it's more beneficial and a

little bit safer actually to keep this

stacked so we walk the right toes out

they're both good different things

different strokes for different folks as

they say stupid ok inhale looking

forward and exhale rocking it back so

I'm not just straightening my right leg

I'm really pulling the right hip crease

back leveling the hips here and flexing

that right foot breathe deep if you're

feeling a little wobbly you can always

come onto the top of that left foot for

stability but for me and my body type

this feels more stable left toes curled

under all right let's find a little

movement a little flow we inhale look

forward smile and exhale maybe coming

onto the palms keep that right foot

flexed as we bow forward integrate the

breath we inhale loop the shoulders open

the heart lengthen

when exhale working with those muscles

working with the breath

we fold here we go inhale

and exhale release pimp slowly we come

back up we roll through that right foot

maybe fold our mat back down as we come

back to our runners lens take a deep

breath in here and then exhale plant the

palms step it back to your downward dog

for two nice long smooth deep breaths

pedal it out melt your heart back

awesome then we'll slowly lower back on

to the knees cross the left ankle over

the right so we're just reversing kind

of the way we went up here we'll select

come back to the buttocks and come back

to flat back so here we're going to grab

the block if you don't have the block

then that's okay we can use like a nice

firm book hey-oh or we can screw the

props all together and just use our

hands so I'll start with a block and

we're gonna come to flat back so take

your block or your book and we're going

to basically go in the same order as

before so sole of the left foot comes to

the earth and we're going to send the

right leg all the way up really let the

weight of that hip just drop in a socket

here and then pay attention to lower

back and upper body here too as well

just like we did before nothing like the

support of the earth here to check in

with these tight hammies to check in

with the backs of the legs I'm going to

take the block straight to my hammie

here straight to Miami flex the right

foot keep the shoulders relaxed and

we're going to find a little resistance

here so I'm not just pulling this block

or the book or the option here is to

interlace the fingertips and use the

firmness of the palms to do this as well

but rather and this is important and

this is about strengthening these

muscles so we stretch and then we

strengthen right so I'm not just pulling

the block to my right thigh but rather

pressing back with the thigh so really

left hamstrings lengthening towards the

sky as I flex through that right

foot and I'm finding a little

give-and-take here you can stay here or

we can slide that right heel down just

as we did before come to fix and then

you know me God is in the details or the

Devils in the details however you want

to see it this right shoulder might

start to pull up so just ground down

through that right shoulder keep

dropping this right hip socket down with

an exhale energetically pressing through

that right heel and we find a little

resistance so it might be here it might

be here or it might be a little further

just find where it is today and breathe

let's do three more breaths here

sweet and then we'll soften through that

right knee and switch nice and easy nice

and easy okay here we go sole the right

foot on the mat or you send the left

foot up go ahead and catch the back of

that leg here with your block your book

or your palms and again this is about

finding that resistance so we're not

just pulling up here it's kind of the

opposite of we're pressing with that

hamstring or strength I can't wait till

I get HAMP's drinks we're pressing into

the hamstring and we're really finding

that again that energy out through the

left heel neck is nice and long long and

beautiful stay here use the sole that

right foot for as little stability

especially if you're starting to feel

that prana that energy that shake or

slide it down experiment

so nice supportive stretching here let's

do three more breaths enjoy this time

and when you feel satisfied we'll Bend

that left knee soften it out release the

props to the sides and both legs out

long reach the fingertips up full body

stretch point the feet move the ankles

the wrists

take a deep the wrists the wrists take a

deep breath in smile and exhale release

shavasana okey doke so that was a

sequence to strengthen and lengthen the

hamstrings I think that of all videos

this is a really good one to favorite or

click Add to down below so that you can

return to the video more easily and find

ease and the hamstrings slowly begin to

work with that flexibility and give it

time my biggest suggestion to you is

find what feels good and give it time

particularly with this particular muscle

group and the backs of the legs already

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you next time namaste