- Hello everyone and welcome to

Center Your 
30 Day Yoga Journey.

I'm Adriene and 
this is sweet Benji

and we're so excited 
that you are here.

It is Day 1 and the
most important thing

and potentially the hardest 
part of this whole journey

is that you show up.

Thank you so
much for being here.

(snaps)
Let's get started.

(light music)

Alrighty, let's begin 
in a comfortable seat.

Ta-da, we have already begun.

Come on down to the ground.

Take your time getting there.

And this is kind of 
a great thing to

start with each 
day that we begin.

No matter how you're feeling
or what you're coming to the

practice with, it's all good.
I mean that.

I've been doing this a
long time, it is all good.

And that is really what 
we're celebrating today

with our theme of showing up.

So as long as you're showing
up to the mat, you can sit here

in a comfortable seat the
whole time while the video

rolls on. You can breathe
with us instead of move.

I'm gonna show you a lot 
of modifications, of course,

but the most important thing
is that you come with whatever

you've got that
day and show up.

So hopefully by now you're
in that comfortable seat.

We're just gonna 
take the hands together,

palms together,

Anjali Mudra at the heart,
relax your shoulders and

if you feel comfortable, 
go ahead and close your eyes

or allow your gaze to soften
down gently past your nose.

So we're gonna
work with shape a lot.

But again, the most 
important thing is

the fact that you showed up.

That is

the most valuable part,

in my opinion, 
of a centering practice.

Begin to relax your shoulders.

We're gonna really ease in.

Tuck your chin slightly,
lengthen the back of the neck.

Just start to
notice your breath.

Again, showing up
with your breath each day.

Not worrying too much
about nailing the postures

or accomplishing the journey.

Simply show up and
allow the practice to unfold.

Begin to gently
deepen your breath.

Whatever that
means for you right now.

It could be a 
couple deep inhalations

and long cleansing exhales.

It could just be

a little more expansion 
as you breathe in,

and a little more softening,
a little awareness

as you breathe out.

So again, no right or wrong.

Just showing up
with your breath.

Inviting in a new 
awareness every time

you come to the mat.

Continue to relax
your shoulders down.

Soften your gaze, 
close the eyes.

Allow the skin of
your face to soften.

And as we continue 
to just tune in

here for a moment 
or two more,

see if you can 
sit up a little bit taller,

lengthening through your spine.

Perhaps finding a gentle
lift in your heart center.

Continuing to
gently deepen the breath.

Our mantra today is "I can."

Take it or leave it.

I can take it and run with it.

"I can."

Or you can just
leave it on the shelf.

No worries.

I'm very honored to guide
you through this practice.

I'm very honored to
practice alongside you.

All of us together.

Find your center.

Let's take a deep breath in.

All together.

And as you exhale, 
bow the head towards the hands.

Head to heart. Thank you 
so much for showing up.

This is the hardest part.

And then we can
bat the eyelashes open.

Open thyne eyes.

And we're gonna come
slowly forward onto all fours.

Take your time.

Move like you love yourself.

Spread your fingertips.
It's okay if you don't.

That's why we're here.

We're here to nurture that
and nurture that experience

but move as if, right, 
you love yourself.

Spread the fingertips wide.

Knees underneath the hips.

You can always use a towel
or blanket to cushion the knees

in any of these postures
where the knees are on the mat.

And just take a second to
press away from the yoga mat.

We're gonna do this a lot.

So really not surrendering
to the gravity here but

defying gravity on Day 1.
What's up?

So press away from the mat and

feel that length in 
the armpit chest area.

It's kind of a lifting
up out of the shoulder.

And feel the heart lift.

And then check in
with your ribcage.

Is it also kind of
falling towards the ground

or can we again defy gravity?
How cool?

As we maybe hug 
the low ribs up

to find the length in the spine.

As you can see,
Benji's perfectly (chuckles)

in position for 
today's practice.

It's a good omen.

Now bring your
awareness to your belly.

Draw your navel up just a bit

and feel this lengthening 
in the low back.

So if you're like, what?

You can peek at the
video instead of allowing it to

collapse here like we're 
about to intentionally do in

Cow Pose, see if you can
find a nice neutral spine.

Drawing the navel up
with the low ribs hugging in.

Alright.

Press into the tops of the feet
to engage the legs just a bit.

Then bring your
gaze straight down.

Neck nice and long.

Bump the hips
now just to the left.

Turn your gaze to look
past the right shoulder.

Feel a little stretch
in your left side waist.

Try to keep your foundation
firmly rooted as you press the

hips a little more and
send your gaze towards

the back right corner 
of your mat.

Breathe in.

Nice, and then on the exhale,
slow and steady, with control,

come back to center.

And now bumping
the hips to the right.

Turning to look
past your left shoulder.

So the trick here is

really paying attention 
to your foundation.

Noticing if the feet 
have kind of gone askew

or if you're collapsing 
into your hands.

Reinforce that connection.

And take a deep breath in 
here as you look towards

the bottom left corner 
of your mat.

Good, and then exhale, bring
it all the way back to center.

Inhale, drop the
belly nice and slow here.

Send your heart forward.
Gaze forward.

Again, press into
the tops of the feet.

Press into the hands.

Feel that stretch
in the front body.

And then on your next exhale,

follow your breath, 
navel draws up.

We tuck the tailbone
and the crown of the head

goes to the ground.
Cat Pose.

Now let's flow with the breath.

Inhale, dropping the belly,
open the chest.

Nice and slow,
press into the fingertips.

And exhale, round through
the spine, chin to chest.

Really draw the muscles
of the deep core up, up, up.

Keep going with your breath.

Good, then bring it back
to neutral, Tabletop Position.

We're gonna walk the
hands forward from here.

Create two slides 
with your arms.

The elbow creases are turning
towards the front edge

of the mat, slightly in.

So you want to externally
rotate your shoulders

so that happens.
And then curl the toes under,

inhale in, exhale, from center
navel draws in and up,

send the hips high and back.

Our first Downward Dog
together in this series.

I have a Benji hair on my knee.

I'll take that
for good luck as well.

Take a deep breath in here.

And as you exhale, keep the
palms, the knuckles grounded

as you start to find some
movement in the lower half of

your body, bending the knees,
of course, stretching through

the feet,

the ankles,
the achilles, the calves.

Now bend your elbows slightly,
just slightly so they're not

locked and continue to think
about lifting up through the

hip creases as
you breathe in deeply.

And exhale completely.

Great. When you feel good 
or you feel satisfied,

we'll say, let's find stillness 
for a breath or two here.

Seeing if we can hug those low
ribs in, draw the navel to the

spine, and send the 
majority of our weight

to the lower half of the body.

Now we have 30 days 
to work on this together,

so we're just taking stock.

Nice, and then
slowly lower to your knees.

Bring the big toes together.

Walk the knees 
as wide as you're mat,

and send the hips back.

Child's Pose,
Extended Child's Pose.

You can bring the palms
together if you like,

up and over the head here.

You can stretch
the arms out wide.

Find what feels good for
a breath cycle or two here.

You can rock the head, 
the forehead,

maybe gently on the earth.

And then bring the
hands back to the mat.

Lift back up through Tabletop,

walk your knees 
underneath your hips.

Curl the toes under, take
a deep breath in, and exhale,

hips up high and back, 
Downward Facing Dog.

Now anchor through
your left heel here.

Press into both palms evenly,

and inhale, 
slowly lift the right leg up.

See if you can
keep your hips level.

If you start to shake here,
it's all good.

We're building
strength one day at a time.

If you've been practicing a
while, see if you can really

work on your symmetry, keeping
the hips level, keeping those

low ribs hugging in, pressing
away from your mat with your

hands and anchoring
through that left heel.

Sweet, then bend the right knee,

and we can open 
it up for a breath.

Stretch, stacking the hips,
breathe in.

And breathe out to
bring the right foot down.

Let's take it
to the other side.

Take a little break anytime you
need to by lowering the knees,

of course,
throughout the 30 Day Journey.

Right heel anchors.

When you're ready on an inhale,

sliding that left foot 
up an imaginary wall.

And then just, today's
all about taking stock

without any judgment.
Breathe.

Let's try to find 
some symmetry here,

pressing into both palms evenly.

Maybe pulling that right
hip crease back if you've been

practicing for a bit, 
finding level hips.

And then we release that
structure, that specificity by

bending the knees, 
stacking the hips,

taking a deep breath in.

And an exhale to release
it all the way back down.

Sweet, bend the knees, 
look forward, inhale in,

exhale, 
make your way to the top.

I'm gonna do
crisscross steps today.

Walking slowly up to the mat,
stretching as I go.

You can hop, you can
take two steps, four steps.

I'll meet you at the top,
feet hip width apart,

standing Forward Fold.

Take a couple
deep breaths here.

Bend your knees,

feel that beautiful 
stretch in the low back.

And then send your awareness
to the soles of your feet.

So grounding through all 
four corners of the feet,

the back two corners 
of the heels,

the ball joint of the big toe,

and the ball joint
of the pinky toe.

Find your footing.

And then when you're ready,
we're gonna bend the knees so

much that the belly comes
towards the tops of the thighs

and the strong muscles of the

glutes and the legs 
start to engage.

And it's from there that we'll
slowly then begin to tuck the

chin into the
chest and roll it up.

Hands on the waist, 
or if you feel comfortable,

hands falling forward
like a rag doll.

Slowly as you rise up, 
stacking through the spine,

reinforce that 
connection with your feet.

It's just an awareness
all four corners, grounding.

And then think about
this upward current of energy,

lifting you
through the front body.

You can kind of
use your imagination.

There's this element of
creativity to this practice

that's gonna take us to Day 30 
in a really beautiful way.

So think of like, 
I always think of it

as like Ariel on the rock or 
Kate at the front of the boat

but we're lifting up 
through the front.

And then just like in 
traditional yoga practice

(chuckles) and science, 
what goes up

must come down.

We have the lift, lifting,
and then the grounding.

So think about this grounding
energy in the back body.

And that's kind of what's
bringing into your natural,

bringing you into
your natural posture today.

So you don't have to
force these postures.

I will guide you 
and help kind of

carry us through an exploration.

But think about the energy
you're bringing each day and

how you have the power 
to shift that just by coming

to the mat and spending
some time with yourself.

So lifting up 
through the front body,

grounding through the back body.

Find your Mountain Pose today.

That's what this shape is.

You can imagine 
the crown of your head

is the tip of the Mountain.

I always used to do that 
in my kids' yoga classes,

but I think it's great, I mean, 
I use it all the time too,

just finding that
length from the crown.

That lengthening through the
spine that we're gonna focus

a lot on throughout this journey.

Alright, take a deep breath
in here and as you breathe in

this time, think about sending
that breath to your belly.

So a nice full belly breath.

And then let it go.

And twice more like that.

Actually, let's bring
the hands to the belly.

Big inhale here. Feel that
expansion in your hands.

And on the exhale,
the navel draws in.

And one more just like that.

We're playing
around, big inhale.

And exhale, draw it in.

Sweet. Interlace the fingertips,
bring them behind your head.

Thumbs can extend here to kind
of cradle your neck with love.

Soft bend in the knees.

We're gonna inhale in, 
lift the chest

just lean back a bit.

You don't have to do
a crazy back bend here.

In fact, don't.
Keep the knees bent.

Navel draws in.

You're just gonna take the left
elbow down, right elbow up.

Nice side body stretch here.

Reinforce that connection with
your right heel to the earth.

Then navel draws in, 
knees stay bent.

You're just going to accentuate
the bend in the knees

as the navel draws back.

And you come through center,
think Cat Pose.

And then over to the right.

Right elbow down, 
left elbow up.

Lean your head back into your
little neck cradle here that

you've created
with your thumbs.

Feel that stretch
in the left side waist.

Dig into your left heel.

And then we'll take it
all the way up through center.

Now let's keep this going a slow

circular motion 
with your breath.

There's no right or
wrong with the breath.

Just allowing it to have

and try to 
maintain the spotlight.

Breathing deeply.

Keeping it moving 
now nice and slow,

this circular motion 
with your breath.

And there's no right or
wrong with the breath here.

Just making sure the
breath is leading the way.

Whatever that means to you.
Benji just sighed (laughs).

Listening to his breath.

Okay and in your own time,
so you decide when,

be sure to reverse it.

And try to keep the elbows
nice and wide, the knees soft.

We're massaging the
internal organs here.

Lengthening the side body,
the side waist, the low back.

Connecting to 
the glutes, the quads.

And giving the
spine lots of love.

Alright, bring it back
up to your Mountain Pose.

We can release the fingertips
down and now we're gonna

interlace them, bind
them behind the back.

Draw the knuckles down and away,

open the chest, 
stand up nice and tall.

Take a deep breath in.

Feel that stretch 
in the pectorals

and a little opening 
in your heart space.

Sweet and on your exhale,
let's slowly take it forward.

Diving forward
into a Forward Fold.

Keeping the bind.
Bending the knees.

Allowing the head, the neck,
the shoulders to relax.

So if there's any gripping
there, holding any tension,

try to soften it
with some gentle movement.

Maybe shaking the head yes.

And no.

And then nice and slow,
with control, best you can,

release the fingertips and with
control wiggle the fingertips

as you slowly release the
arms all the way back down.

Great, take a deep breath in.

You're gonna slide the hands
up to the tops of the shins and

just find length in the
spine as you breathe in.

A little lift halfway and
then exhale, soften and fold.

Let everything come back down.

Standing Forward Fold.

Great,
fingertips come to the mat.

Step your 
left foot back, left foot.

Bend the right knee and 
we're gonna, slow and steady,

we're gonna roll up nice and
slow to a standing lunge.

Hands come to the waist.

Breathe deep here.

If this is much too much for
you today, you can lower this

knee down to the
ground and work here.

Perfect, awesome.

Pull the right hip crease back.
Draw the navel in and up.

See if you can find this
lift from the pelvic floor.

Good, then stay here, breathe
or fingertips can go down to

come up as you inhale reaching
all the way up towards the sky.

Front knee over front ankle.

Pulling that right hip crease
back, hugging the low ribs in.

Take a deep breath in.

Relax the shoulders 
as you breathe out.

On your next inhale, carve a
line with your nose to slowly

look all the way up
towards your fingertips.

Just check it out.
Taking stock.

Good and then exhale, 
pivot on the back foot,

bring your left heel 
to the ground

and we're gonna 
open up Warrior II.

Just checking it out today.

Pull the pinkies back, 
lift up through your heart

and then send your gaze 
past your right fingertips.

Owning this shape,
feeling this sensation.

Breathe.

And then let's flip the script.

You're gonna 
straighten the front leg now,

send the right fingertips 
all the way up and back.

A little Reverse Triangle here.

Big stretch, big breath.
Inhale in.

Exhale, have a little fun here.

We're gonna cartwheel 
it all the way back

to a nice low lunge,
fingertips on the ground.

Good. In your lunge, you can

keep the back knee 
lifted or lowered.

As you inhale, look forward.

Open up through the front body.

And then exhale, plant
the palms, step the right foot

back to a Plank Pose.

Mhmmm, on Day 1.
We got this.

Navel draws up, 
press away from your yoga mat,

reach the heels back, 
crown of the head forward.

Take a breath or two
here to just take stock.

You got this.

Breathe.

And after a couple breaths,
you can lower the knees and slowly

lower all the way to the belly.

I wish you guys had
the view I had, have.

(kisses Benji)

And then dragging the
hands underneath the shoulders,

we're gonna come
into three Baby Cobras.

So press into your
foundation (laughs).

Hi, buddy.

Press into your foundation,

that which is 
touching the earth.

And when you're ready, 
inhale, lift up, Baby Cobra.

Nice and easy. Careful not to
crunch the back of the neck.

Keep the chin tucked.

On an exhale, slowly lower.

Forehead kisses
the earth or Benji.

Inhale, rise up.

Squeeze the elbows,
each time find something new.

Exhale, cascade it down.

And one more inhale, lift up.

And exhale, soften and release.

Good, curl the toes under,
lift the kneecaps, tone the quads.

Inhale in.

Exhale, press up, power up.

Quietly whisper to yourself,
"I am strong."

I am strong.

Then send the hips up high
and back, Downward Facing Dog.

And remember
today's affirmation "I can."

Then bend the knees, 
inhale, look forward.

Exhale, make your 
way to the top.

Baby steps,

maybe rag doll,
maybe a little hop.

Then feet come together, 
really together here,

Standing Forward Fold.

Good, inhale, halfway lift.

Exhale, slowly
bending back into the fold.

Good. Bend the knees,
fingertips come to the mat.

This time we step
the right foot back.

Bend through the left knee.

Imagine you're 
squeezing your legs in

towards the midline of your mat.

So there's this kind of
cinching, drawing inward

energy as you slowly rise up,

standing lunge, hands on hips.

Front knee bent,
right heel reaching back.

We can always bring that
back knee down, no problem.

And breathe here.

Relax the shoulders.
Find your center.

So draw that navel in and up.

In yoga we call
this Uddiyana Bandha

but really you can also think
about engaging the muscles of

your deep core, 
your lower core, your guts.

And then if you like, send
the fingertips down to come up.

Little expression here, 
high lunge.

Breathe.

And then maybe carving a line
with the nose all the way up.

Taking a deep breath in
to look up towards the sky.

Sweet, and then on an
exhale we open up, Warrior II.

Press into the outer
edge of your back foot.

Your right toes are turned 
in towards the center

of your mat just a hair.

Front knee's bent.

Just taking stock today.

I want to stack the 
head over the heart,

the heart over pelvis

in this Warrior posture.

So just take note.

Good, then straighten 
the front leg,

send the left fingertips 
all the way up and back.

Big breath, big stretch 
from the ball joint of your

left big toe all the way
through your left fingertips.

Good, then exhale, cartwheel
it all the way forward.

Take up space.

Slowly and with control, 
come all the way back down

to your nice low runner's lunge.

Good, back knee can
stay lifted or lowered.

We're gonna inhale,
open the chest, look forward.

Creating a whole
body experience here.

Good, then exhale, 
plant the palms,

step it back,
Plank Pose.

Take a deep breath in here.

Listen carefully.

Exhale, hips up high and back,
Downward Facing Dog.

You can.

The hardest part is
showing up and we are here.

You can and you will.

Take one more deep breath in.

And on your exhale, melt your
heels down towards the earth.

That's okay if
they don't touch.

Just the intention 
and press away

from your mat with your palms.

Sweet.

And when you're ready, a slow
descend of the knees to kiss

the earth and we'll send the
hips back to melt the heart,

Child's Pose.

Can keep the arms reaching
forward or if it feels good,

you can slide the palms on
the mat and send the fingertips

towards the back edge,
towards your feet

and allow the shoulders 
to round forward.

Close your eyes,
my darling friends.

Make a wish.

Sorry, it's too early 
in the series

to start singing Boyz II Men.

Is it though?

Take a couple
centering breaths here.

Feeling the way
your breath moves you.

Feel that stretch in the skin
of the back as you breathe in.

And just that
softening as you exhale.

And if this shape is not so
good for you, you can come

to lie on your 
back a little early

or you can come 
to a comfortable seat.

We're just gonna take two
more cycles of breath here.

And then slowly lift
the head and the heart.

We'll come to shift our weight
just to one side, any side,

and then send the
legs out in front.

We're gonna point the toes.

Sorry buddy. (chuckles)

Okay, I'll adjust for you.

We're gonna point the toes,
send the fingertips forward.

You can
interlace them if you like.

You can do like a 
Charlie's Angel, steeple grip

or you can just 
reach them forward.

But we want to send intention
out through the arms 'cause

it's gonna help you
as you point the toes.

And today, again, 
just taking stock, my friends,

so we're gonna
slowly roll it down.

Working to engage the muscles
of the core and working to

really see if we can
go one vertebra at a time.

Now there may be a
moment where your legs fly up.

Very humbling moment.

That's why we're here.

Humility is a big part
of this practice for me.

And then eventually, you're
probably, maybe already there

(chuckles), we'll
come down to the ground.

And we will snuggle 
the shoulder blades

underneath the heart space.

Take a deep breath in.

And on an exhale, we're just
gonna give ourselves a little

hug here to close.

So hug the
knees up to the chest.

You can massage the lower back
and the sacrum here by drawing

slow circles, maybe one way,
and then the other.

Keep the breath 
nice and active here

as we inch towards
the end of this practice.

For real, that's it.
It flew by.

Each day we'll be
learning new vocabulary.

And showing up for an
experience that

will have such 
an impact off the mat.

One that we don't even know.

One that we can't even see,
but we'll be able to feel.

Alright. Bring the 
feet to the ground.

Extend one leg.

And then the other.
If there's any last little bits of

movement, maybe you want to
do before we wrap this baby,

please feel free to
mindfully do them now.

Let's come into this shape of

the Corpse Pose, a Shavasana,

where we relax the full weight
of the body into the earth.

So now we completely
surrender to gravity.

And I would invite you
to close your eyes.

And just think about this shape
every time we come to the end.

This is for people who have
been practicing a long time

and for a
beautiful beginner's mind.

Think about this
as a layered event.

First exhale, you let go once.

Second exhale,

you might notice that 
you're holding in an area

of the body that maybe 
you weren't aware of.

And then there's the energetic
offering here to really just

allow your energy to soften,

to recalibrate, to allow the 
nutrients of your practice,

the breath work,

the affirmation, the movement.

Allow it to come together,

so that it may serve you best.

This journey is
about coming back.

It's about knowing and
understanding who you are

through daily practice.

And I'm extremely honored

to go on this journey with you.

Bring the palms together,
slowly bring the thumbs up to

your forehead here, 
this third eye point,

you can give it a little touch.

The power of touch is good.

Hey-oh, Day 1.
Alright.

Thank you again.

Let's close with a deep
inhale in, lots of love.

And one final exhale out.

Lots of love.

Look forward to seeing
you tomorrow for Day 2.

Thank you for sharing this
centering practice with me.

Take care.

(light music)