- Hello everyone, and
welcome to Yoga With Adriene.

I'm Adriene and
this is sweet Benji.

And today we have a beautiful

dropping into
stillness practice for you.

So whilst I know
we're all trying

to get the most out
of our valuable time

and make the most out
of our valuable energy,

what if it were
so valuable for us

to pause and learn how
to drop into stillness

in this fast-paced world?

So this could be really great

after an active workout
or active yoga practice.

This would also be a
beautiful way to start the day.

Or if you are
feeling a little turbulence

in your mind, say,

this could be a
good thing to do midday,

but also it's gonna 
be a surefire way

to wind down for bedtime.

So it's pretty great.
Hop into something comfy.

Grab something to
sit up on if ya have it

and let's get started.

(upbeat music)

Alright, my sweet friends,

go ahead and find a
nice comfortable seat

or you may do this
practice on your back.

Maybe come to lay down.

Find a comfortable position.

And right away, we're
going to soften the gaze,

or you can close your
eyes if you feel comfortable.

And really it may not
be easy, but the invite

is to see how fast you can

surrender to stillness.

(tranquil music)

Thank you for joining me
and Benji for this practice.

Again, the invitation

is to see how fast you can

surrender to stillness.

So whether you chose to lie down

or to find a 
comfortable upright position,

settle in.

And begin to just
notice your breath.

Dropping into
stillness is a process

that with practice, 
like anything,

it can be finessed.

It can become more familiar.

Perhaps more readily available.

A powerful tool
in this day and age.

Allow your hands to rest gently

in a comfortable
position of your choice.

And if there's
any area of your body

that might be
gripping or holding,

perhaps in the limbs,

or in the shoulders, 
or the hips,

or in the jaw, or even in
the skin of the forehead,

see if you can
soften it a bit here.

And just noticing again

the natural ebb and
flow of your breath.

You don't have to force anything

or do anything besides

bring your awareness to it.

Again, seeing
dropping into stillness

as a process, an action.

And it doesn't
necessarily happen immediately.

But it will happen if you
continue to focus your awareness

on simply noticing,
just observing your breath,

observing how you feel.

Maybe you're particularly 
fidgety today and you think,

"Maybe this wasn't the
right practice to select."

Well, trust that
you're here for a reason.

And you might begin to
gently deepen your breath

just naturally by bringing
your focus and awareness to it.

But if it doesn't
happen kind of naturally,

and it doesn't feel good, you
don't have to force it today.

Just seeing every natural inhale

as an opportunity to check in.

Maybe cultivating a

sense of peace or calm,

relaxation with

every breath out.

So essentially
with every breath in,

you're just accepting 
your beautiful self,

who you are and
where you are today.

And with every exhale,

you're willing and open

to inviting in a sense of calm,

of peace, and of relaxation.

(tranquil music continues)

Stay present with
your breath here.

And when you're ready,

we'll scan the body,
starting with the toes

and the soles of the feet.

Just bringing your attention
to that part of the body,

softening anything
that's gripping or holding.

But otherwise, you don't
have to do anything

or make anything of it.

Just sending your
awareness to the toes,

to the soles of the
feet and the heels.

And scanning the tops of
the feet and the ankles.

And as you continue to
gently breathe with awareness,

send your attention to
the lower part of your legs,

the shins, the calves.

And then up through the knees.

In front of the knee, the sides,
and the back of the knee.

And through the
upper parts of your legs.

And the thighs,
the top of the thigh,

and the back of the thighs.

The outer edges
of the inner thigh.

Then scan all the
way up to the hips,

the hip creases,
the bowl of the pelvis,

the outer hip, and the glutes.

And just nice, easy
inhalations here,

Observing.

And nice, easy exhalations that

welcome in a sense of peace.

Now travel up through the waist,

the lower back,

the tailbone and sacrum.

With love, wrap
around the low belly,

the front body, your center,

your core, the side bodies.

Travel up the spine and
send attention and awareness

to the back,

the low back,

mid-back.

Around to your ribs,

and all the way up
through your heart space.

The chest,

the upper back.

Relax your shoulders
as you draw awareness

to your arms.

The fingers soft,

hands heavy.

The lower part of your arms,

the elbows,

the upper-arm bones,

shoulders again, relax.

And the collarbones.

The trapezius
muscles in your neck.

The back of the head,

the jawline.

And travel all the
way up through the skull.

Relaxing the skin
of the face, the brow.

And bringing your
awareness all the way up

to the crown of your head,
the tippy-tip-top of your head.

And then let the scan go and

notice what it feels 
like to be still today.

Notice all that
you can experience

while you are still.

(tranquil music continues)

Relax your tongue in your mouth.

We'll just take a
few more breaths here.

Stillness practice in a world

where we are constantly rushing,

looking to speed things up,

fill in every space, every gap.

Take one more moment here
to embody exquisite stillness

and just be.

Now, one last
time here together,

we'll gently deepen the breath.

And this time, let a big
inhale and a long exhale

activate some
movement in your fingers.

Maybe you bat the
eyelashes gently open,

but keep your gaze down, soft.

Then we'll bring
the palms together

and all the way up
to your heart space.

And you just might
even press your thumbs

against your chest here.

Feel the warmth
between your two palms

or the potential warmth 
between your two palms

or the potential warmth of
your thumbs on your chest.

You might even feel
your heartbeat here.

And I'd like to
just give thanks.

And I invite you to join me

if you feel pulled to just
have a moment of gratitude

for slowing down,

for welcoming in a
sense of inner peace.

And I do believe that when
we take the time to be still,

we are taking the time to know

and understand ourselves better.

So thank you for
sharing this practice with me.

To more stillness practices

in our modern day world.

If you don't have
time for this full video,

just know you can
always plant your feet

or just take a
moment anytime, anywhere,

to pause, notice your breath,
and find stillness.

Thank you so much.

Take good care.

Namaste.

(upbeat music)