- Hello, everyone.
Welcome to Yoga With Adriene.

I'm Adriene, and today,
we have a yoga practice

to calm your nerves.

This is a great thing to do
if you wanna check yo'self

before you wreck yo'self
using the powerful tools

of yoga and breath,
pranayama, to just quell

those frayed nerves 
and to turn it around.

Let's see what we can do,
hop on something comfy,

and let's get started.

(upbeat music)

Alrighty, my sweet friends.

Let's start in a nice
comfortable seat of your choice.

Take a second to get settled in.

As you just arrive 
here on your mat,

begin to find a 
little lift in your heart.

When the nervous 
system is a little shot

and we're starting 
to feel the imbalance

of our inner calm, this is
the first thing to collapse.

So right away, 
just a gentle lift.

I like the metaphor of
just starting to welcome

a little support 
from within too.

So just sit up nice and
tall, nice and slow.

No need to push 
or rush anything here.

Just lift your heart as
you begin to settle in

for your practice.

I bow to you.

I commend you 
for choosing this video,

for taking a little bit
of time out of your busy,

busy, busy life 
to tend to yourself

and your inner ecosystem.

So namaste, props to you.

Let's do this thing.

Sit up nice and tall.

We're gonna start 
with a little pranayama,

a little series of breath
practice that will support us

and help us smooth out
those frayed nerves.

Nice and easy to start,
let's take a deep breath

in through the nose.

As you exhale, try to
relax your shoulders.

And again, deep breath in.

Exhale, relax your 
shoulders even more.

One more time, inhale deeply.

Exhale, relax your shoulders.

Sweet.

Keep trying to find a
little lift in the heart.

Again, you don't 
have to push anything,

you don't have 
to force anything,

just start to work on
finding a little lift.

We'll take the index
finger and the thumb today,

keeping it nice and simple.

Nadi Shodhana, 
alternate nostril breathing.

Take the thumb 
to the right nostril.

Let's do this together.

Deep breath in 
through the left nostril.

Pause, hold, 
retain the breath at the top.

Keep your heart lifted.

Then take the right index
finger, your index finger

to the left nostril, 
and then exhale out

through the right nostril.

Benji's doing it too.

Inhale deeply in 
through the right nostril.

Pause, retain the 
breath at the top.

Seal the right nostril, switch,

and big exhale, release out
through the left nostril.

Let's keep it going.

Inhale deeply, left nostril.

Lift your heart, pause,
retain the breath at the top.

Seal and switch.

Exhale, right nostril.

Inhale right.

Pause, retain at the top.

Maybe close your eyes now.

Keep the heart lifted.

Seal and switch.

Exhale out through the left.

Two more rounds, let's do this.

Inhale left.

Pause, retain at the top.

Seal and switch.

Exhale right.

Inhale right.

Pause, retain at the top.

Seal and switch.

Exhale left.

Inhale left.

Pause at the top.

Seal and switch.

Exhale right.

Inhale right.

Retain.

Seal and switch.

Exhale left.

Release the hand.

Allow the palms 
to just rest gently

on the tops of the 
knees or the thighs,

whatever feels good, 
and here we go.

Deep breath in 
through both nostrils.

And exhale out 
through the nostrils.

Just notice if you 
feel any different.

Notice how you feel.

That's the most important thing,

the most important task.

The most important and
valuable opportunity here

is to keep checking in,
keep noticing how you feel.

Hands are gonna 
come to the belly now.

Inhale deeply in 
through the nostrils.

See if you can really
feel a little expansion

in the belly as you breathe in,

and then exhale, let it go.

So we're growing 
this belly breath here.

No rush, but inhale.

See, again, explore if you
can find a little expansion

in the belly as you 
breathe in and exhale,

navel draws in as 
you breathe out.

If you're feeling like tapping
into that creative energy,

super powerful energy 
for clearing space and

quelling frayed nerves, imagine 
the breath traveling in through

the nose as you breathe in,

going all the way 
down into the belly,

it does an Olympic somersault
and then comes all the way up

and back out through the nose.

So often, we think of a
big breath as coming up

and down as you breathe out,
but this is the opposite.

So we're inhaling 
down into the belly,

find expansion.

You should feel that
expansion in your hands,

and then exhale, comes
out, up and out the nose.

This belly breath, or we also
call this balloon breath,

or you might also know it
as diaphragmatic breathing,

is super powerful, and
we're gonna do three.

Here we go.

Big inhale.

Exhale, navel draws in.

Feel it out. Bring the breath.

Inhale, find expansion.

Exhale.

One more time, big breath.

Exhale.

Awesome. Draw your 
hands to your heart.

Keep the heart lifting.

Awesome work.

Continue to breathe
slowly, evenly, mindfully.

Gently come 
forward onto all fours.

Take your time.

When you arrive, bring the
knees as wide as your yoga mat,

big toes to touch.

We'll thread the needle.

It's funny, I have some
friends in the cool

that always tease me
because I thread the needle,

I get it backwards, but you
know what I'm talking about.

I love it.

Lift the heart, 
and thread the needle.

This is the thread,
going through the needle.

Right arm underneath the
bridge of the left arm here.

Pelvis rocks up and we
start to use the breath

to feel expansion 
again in the belly.

We start to let go of any
tension in the upper back body,

in the neck, 
and if you need more,

you can press that left
elbow up towards the sky,

or you can even take the
left fingertips forward.

Maybe left hand to the
small of the back too,

would be nice.

Big breath in.

Exhale, release, 
come back to center.

Take it to the other side.

Left fingertips in and
underneath the bridge

of the right arm.

This is so good for you, 
breathe deep,

this time that 
you're taking for yourself.

A lot of times, we think
we don't have the time,

but we actually save time
and make our quality of life

so much more 
rich and beneficial,

slowly release and 
come back to center,

just by taking 
this time for ourself.

Now turn the fingertips
in towards your body.

So you're gonna 
externally rotate,

turn the fingertips 
in towards your body,

and then take a second here to
find that lift in the heart.

Inhale, look forward.

Stay here, breathe deep.

One more breath.

Feel that long puppy belly here,

stretching, stretching,
stretching,

and then slowly release.

Lift your heart
a little bit to come out,

extended Child's Pose.

Fingertips go forward, 
heart melts

down and back.

Continue to observe the breath,

deepening the breath,

elongating the breath,

connecting to 
yourself via the breath.

The mind and body respond
so well to this conscious,

conscious breath.

It's like a magic elixir for

those moments where
you're feeling nervous,

anxious.

Press into your hands, your
feet, to come all the way up.

Walk the knees 
underneath the hips,

and then we'll send it
to Downward Facing Dog,

nice and slow.

Beginning to lift the
heart above the head,

little inversion here,
relaxing the head and the neck

so you're not 
holding or clenching,

and then take your
dog on a little walk.

So pedal the feet, 
stay connected, hands to earth.

Please, continue 
to breathe deeply.

Awesome.

Then we're just gonna meet
hands and feet in the middle

of your mat, feed hip width
apart, for a nice forward fold

with the knees bent.

We really wanna try to bring
the belly or the ribcage

to the tops of the thighs here,

so bend your knees as much
as you need to do that,

and then once again, relax
the weight of the head over.

Now belly breath.

See if you can really send
some solid loving breath

into the belly, the diaphragm.

Expanding, you should
feel your ribs, your belly

on the tops of your
thighs as you breathe in.

Then try to keep the shoulders
relaxed as you breathe out

just as we did at the
beginning of this practice.

Couple more breaths here.

Close your eyes if 
you're feeling brave.

Root into all 
four corners of the feet,

and trust the healing
benefits of this mind

and body practice, using
the breath with the asana

to find what feels good.

Great.

Fingertips come to the earth.

We'll loop the shoulders.

Just find a little
awareness in your shoulders,

and nice and slow, 
roll it all the way up.

Find that lift in 
the heart once again,

toes pointing forward,

and just feel your 
feet on the earth.

Whatever kind of 
surface you're on,

just feel that connection.

Remember that you are not alone.

♫ You are not alone

♫ I am here with you

How many times have 
I sang that on this show?

It sounds kind of cheesy,
but I think it's important.

Sometimes when you feel like
you wanna rip your hair out,

it's a good reminder, 
just be like,

"You're not alone.

"You're not the only one
that has these feelings."

It's all good.

For me,

a lot of times in yoga,
when I come to Mountain,

I just try not to 
take that for granted.

Feel my feet on the
earth, this connection.

I'm lucky to have this
moment, have my breath,

my body, to be able to
feel that connection.

Then when you're ready,
inhale, reach the arms

all the way up and overhead.

Spread the fingertips,
continue to feel your feet

on the earth.

If you wanna bend 
your knees a little bit

to help with that, you can.

I'm just gonna take a big,
big, big full body stretch,

big power pose.

Notice if you're clenching
in the shoulders,

and use an exhale to
relax the shoulders down.

Inhale in,

exhale, relax 'em down.

Take it over to 
one side, any side,

just side body stretch here.

Inhale, lifting up 
through the heart.

Still maintain that open
heart, and then back to center.

Take it to the other side,
stretching, feeling good.

Inhale and exhale, release.

Now rain it down, 
interlace the fingertips behind.

You can also take 
a reverse namaste here

or grab the elbows.

Open the chest.

Inhale in, exhale, gently
turning the head to one side.

Inhale, back to center,
and to the other side.

Great. Come back to center.

Shake the head yes, 
slowly nodding.

Nodding.

Then release.

Take one arm over 
and across the chest.

See if you can find that
lift in the heart here.

So you might remember this
stretch from gym class

or something, but see if you
can bring your yogi mind to it.

Root down through the 
heels and lift your heart up.

Great.

Then take it around, 
same fingertips that you had

across the body, bring
them behind, opening up

through the chest, the heart.

Maybe slight backbend
here if you really wanna

go for the gold.

Inhale in and exhale,
relax the shoulders down.

This is a technique that you
can use off your mat, too.

It's called inhale in, exhale,
relax your shoulders down.

Very fancy.

We'll do the same little
diddy on the other side.

You come into this stretch,
you know this stretch.

It feels so good.

So then can you connect
to the big picture?

Root down through the
heels, lift up through that

center plumb line, 
lift your heart.

Breathe deep, 
mindful breaths here.

It's starting to wash the
worries away, slowly but surely.

Take it up and back.

I'm really, really lifting
up through the heart here.

Again, maybe I can take a
nice lovely little move here.

Take the head into the hand
here, the neck into the hand,

the nape of the 
neck into the hand.

Inhale and exhale, 
relax the shoulders down.

Awesome.

Hands come to the waistline.

We take a deep breath in.

This time, 
out through the mouth.

Do it again.

Inhale in.

Exhale out through the mouth.

Why are you being shy?

One more time.

If I can do it on YouTube, you
can do it wherever you're at.

Here we go.

Sweet.

Heel toe, heel toe 
the feet super wide.

We're gonna take 
the two big toes in

as opposed to 
the three big toes.

Take the two big toes in,
nice wide-legged stance.

Really press into the
outer edges of the feet

and then see if you can draw
energy up from the arches

so we're engaging
through the inner thighs.

It's as if someone were
tugging up through that

center channel, sort
of finding that lift up

through the 
pelvic floor, the groin,

almost as if we were trying
to bring the two edges

of the mat together.

We're not just 
dumping into the feet.

There's this real 
energetic pull up

though the center channel.

Here we are.

Deep breath in, exhale,
relax the shoulders down.

Keep that lift in the heart.

Inhaling again, and exhale.

We're gonna send the hips
back, the heart forward.

Press into the 
outer edges of the feet,

hips back, heart forward.

Hips back, heart forward.

Start to tuck the 
chin into the chest.

Find a nice long flat back here,

strong in the legs.

Careful you're not locking
out through the knees here,

so lots of engagement.

Take one more breath. 
You got this.

Exhale all the way down.

Fingertips come to the mat here.

Maybe that's it, and if
they don't quite get there,

you can use a chair here.

You can use blocks,

books, children,

a child there.

(giggles)

If you're feeling like you
can go a little further,

or you're wanting 
to know where, maybe,

this practice can grow, we'll
bring the hands to the earth,

inhale, and then maybe
one day on an exhale,

we start to walk 
the hands back in line

with the arches of the
feet, standing wide-legged,

forward fold.

Maybe one day, the crown of
the head comes onto the earth,

really great for 
the nervous system.

Just keeping this
awareness in the shoulders,

whatever variation you're
on, keeping that awareness

in the shoulders 
that we've slowly built

throughout our practice.

Elbows are in line with
the shoulders if you're in

this variation.

I'm not putting much weight,
if at all any weight,

on my head.

If you have an inversion
practice, this is a great place

to start for that 
tripod headstand,

bringing the knees to the
arms and making your way up.

Be super mindful 
wherever you are.

Let's take three 
breaths in together.

In and out.

In and out.

Take one more deep breath in,

long breath out.

Connect to your feet,
connect to that energy,

those lines of energy drawing
up through the inner thighs,

and slowly, we'll 
make our way back,

connecting to 
your center, your core,

finding a soft bend in
the knees as you bring

the hands back to the waistline.

Inhale, lengthen, and
then exhale, root to rise.

Come all the way up.

Ha.

Reaching fingertips 
behind one more time,

opposite thumb on 
top than you did before,

so it's the weird way, 
the different way.

Knuckles draw down and
away as we open the chest.

Quietly whisper the mantra
to yourself, "I am open."

I am open to solutions.

I'm open to new 
ways of thinking.

I'm open to natural remedies.

I'm open to a fresh start.

Inhale in, lift your heart,

and exhale, release.

Hands come 
back to the waistline.

You can bend the 
knees and hop it together

or heel toe, heel toe,
heel toe back together.

Lift the right knee up.

When you arrive, cross the
right ankle over the left thigh.

If you're working on
balance and stability,

just stay here.

If you need a little more,
you'll bring the hands

to the heart, and this felt
really yummy for the hip

here before.

This is the last thing 
we're doing too,

before you walk off your
mat and go rock your day

or rock your night.

If you can come here,
opening up through that hip,

or if you need a 
little more, you'll bring

the fingertips all the
way down to the ground.

If there's an arm
balance in your practice,

maybe you work on that here.

That video to come.

If there's a toe 
stand in your practice,

maybe you work on that here.

If even the thought of
these frustrates you,

you need to let that go and
accept where you are today.

Just know that all is
good and I got your back.

We have all the time in the
world to grow our practice.

Just focus on the journey
and enjoy the moment.

If you're down low, start
to make your way back up.

Once again, lifting up 
through the heart,

releasing the 
right leg to the ground,

deep breath in.

Exhale, relax your shoulders.

Other side.

You could just be here working
on top of the left thigh,

rolling out, 
dropping the pelvis,

lengthening the tailbone,

head over heart, 
heart over pelvis.

For a deeper stretch in the
hip, we'll bring the palms

together at the heart.

Namaste, and start to play here.

Lots of brightness 
in this left foot,

lots of energy is what I mean.

So it's not soft, but
there's lots of awareness.

Same thing, if you wanna
go a little deeper,

you can take 
hands to the ground.

If there's an arm balance here,

it'll be palms on the ground.

We start to create a little
shelf for the left shin,

left leg.

Maybe it's a toe stand
for all you Bikram babies,

and if you're down low, take
one more big, big breath

down there.

Then use your exhale to come up.

Everyone, inhale in, lift
your heart, and exhale,

release the left leg down.

Drop the hands, inhale.

Lift, lift, lift up 
through the heart.

Exhale, relax your 
shoulders down.

Two more, inhale.

Squeeze and lift.

Exhale, let it go.

Last one, surprise yourself.

Inhale.

Palms together.

Take a second 
to close your eyes.

Gently bow your 
head to your hands.

Namaste.

Gently lift the chin,

bat the eyelashes open.

Awesome work.

(upbeat music)