- Hello everyone,

welcome to Center 
Your 30 Day Yoga Journey.

I'm Adriene, this is sweet
Benji itching his leg and it

is Day 4, Root.

Let's get started.

(light music)

Let's begin today's 
Day 4 practice on the floor.

Come on down to your back.

Take your time getting there.

We're gonna start with the feet
as wide as the yoga mat and

the knees falling
in toward one another.

So a little internal
rotation of the hips.

Can allow your hands to
rest wherever feels good.

So you find a spot.

Could be resting 
gently on the belly,

maybe one hand on the heart, 
one hand on the belly.

Maybe arms at your side, 
arms behind your head.

And once you've found 
your starting position,

close your eyes

and let's just relax the

weight of our body 
here into the mat.

So notice where
you're gripping or holding.

And then we'll start to gently

notice our breath.

And allow your 
attention to be rooted in

just those two things here.

Relaxing any parts of the body

that you might be 
holding or clenching.

Releasing the weight 
of the body into the earth

and bringing your attention,

rooting your awareness 
and your breath,

and observing your breath.

Now you may find that just
by bringing your attention and

your awareness to your breath,

it starts to shift.

It starts to change.

Building on our last practice,
really allowing ourselves to

shift from the unconscious

to the conscious.

Let your 
next inhale be big,

buoyant, full.

And on your next long exhale,
you can bat the eyelashes open

if you like or you
can keep the eyes closed.

And we're just gonna
start slowly rocking the head a

little side to side, 
ear to ear.

Now notice if you've 
taken this invitation

and have already
ran with it, (chuckles)

you're moving quite fast here.
See if you can slow it down.

Again, no right or wrong,
just trying to invite us to

experiment with different
timing and pacing

than maybe we're used to.

So slow down a bit and you can
even get a little crazy here.

I know I do in my practice.

You can start to really
massage the back of the head

in different ways and feel
where you might have tension.

It's quite nice, quite nice.

Alright, then bring 
the head back to center.

Then we're gonna hug 
the knees into the chest.

Alright, take it for a 
couple breaths here maybe

rocking a little side to side
and just feel the yoga mat.

You can kind of imagine it,

use your mind's eye to imagine
the yoga mat just kind of

rising up to 
support your back body

and literally having your 
back in this moment.

I'll take it.
Alright, how about you?

Bring the hands to
the backs of the thighs.

First, we're gonna draw
the navel in just a bit to

find that core connection.

So engaging a little
bit through the low abs.

Then we're gonna start to
rock a little front to back.

Rocking on the spine, just
a couple times and then you're

gonna come all the way through,
cross at the ankles,

sit up nice and tall.
Take a deep breath in.

And a long breath out.

Then we're gonna 
continue the journey forward,

coming on to all fours.

You can back the
truck up a little bit.

Center in the mat.

And then we'll drop the belly,
open the heart, look forward.

And round through 
the spine, Cat Pose.

Navel draws up.

One more time.
Inhale, drop the belly.

Hair toss.

Open the chest, look forward.

And exhale, rounding through,
drawing the muscles of the

abdominal wall up and
the chin towards the chest.

Then come back to neutral.

Walk the hands forward,
curl the toes under,

peel the tailbone up 
towards the sky.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Slowly lower the
knees to the earth.

Then we're gonna
come into a Half Plank.

So you're gonna shift
your weight forward so

your shoulders are 
over your hands.

Then we're gonna lengthen
the tailbone down towards the

backs of the knees.

Imagine your hip points kind of
shining up towards your face.

So we're really lengthening
through the low back here to

turn on the abdominal wall.

Alright, lengthen the
crown of the head forward.

You can cross the ankles
here for fun if you like.

You're like,
"Yeah, it's so much fun."

(chuckles) Deep breath in.
Here we go.

On an exhale, 
navel's gonna draw up

as you bend the 
elbows just halfway.

Good, inhale, press up.

Exhale, bending the elbows.

And they can just kind
of shave the side body.

Also keeping a little diagonal.

So, nice and slow.

Elbows moving at a diagonal,

kind of shaving 
the side body here.

Can split the difference.
Let's do one more

mini push-up.

And then send it back, 
Child's Pose.

Inhale deeply.

And exhale completely.

Good, inhale to
bring it back up. Tabletop.

Walk the hands out, 
curl the toes under,

exhale, send the hips up 
high and back, Down Dog.

Inhale in.

This time exhale, shift your
weight forward to Plank,

full Plank, knees lifted.

Press away from your yoga mat,

reach the heels back, reach
the crown of the head forward.

Engage the low abs by
drawing them in and up

almost as if you 
were trying to draw

your two hip points together.

Feel the abs turn on.

And then you're just
gonna bring the right knee in.

And then send it out.

And the left knee in.

Send it out.

Right knee.

Left knee.

One more round.
That's it.

Just three times, 
you got this. Right knee.

You totally have this. 
Left knee.

Excellent, Downward Facing Dog.

Inhale in, bend the knees,
look towards the top.

And exhale, make your 
way to the top of your mat,

feet hip width apart.

When you get there, relax
the weight of the head over.

Inhale, lots of love in.

Then exhale, lots of love out.

Draw your hands
to your waistline.

Inhale, lots of love in.

Exhale, root down through
all four corners of the feet as

you rise up strong.

Think about engaging the legs
from the feet all the way up

so much that it's as if you
were trying to tear your yoga

mat apart right
down the middle line.

So we're strong.
Lower body's strong and rooted.

A big gust of wind can come
through here and you would not

falter because you're so
strongly rooted from the feet

all the way up.

Draw energy up from the pelvic
floor and now let that go all

the way up through the spine

to the crown of 
the head and beyond.

And when you're ready, pull the
shoulder blades together and

allow them to melt
down the back body.

So once again, you can feel or
imagine this upward current of

energy through the front body,
this grounding through the

back and you're finding 
your posture, yourself,

in-between those 
two opposing forces.

That was a lot.
Alright, let's flow.

Inhale, reach the
fingertips all the way up.

Soft fingers, you can wiggle
'em here if it feels right.

Forward Fold all the way down.

Nice. Inhale, halfway lift.

Find length in the neck.

Draw the shoulder blades in and

down the back body 
just like we did standing.

Nice. Exhale, Forward Fold.

Root to rise,
ground through the feet.

This time spread
the fingertips wide.

Again, you're trying 
to tear your yoga mat

down the middle as you rise up.

Big breath, big stretch.

Reach for the sky 
and we're going

right back down into the fold.
Here we go.

Soft and sweet in the fingers.

Yes.

Inhale, halfway lift, 
long neck.

Keep playing with this.

And exhale to soften and fold.

Fingertips come to the mat next

and we slide the 
left foot out long.

Good.
Lower the left knee down,

press into the 
top of the back foot.

So uncurl the toes.
Front knee is bent.

We're gonna inhale reach
the fingertips all the way up,

Crescent Lunge.

And you can walk that knee
back just a bit if that feels

alright in your body.

Pull the right hip crease back.

Inhale, look up.

Exhale, rain it down.

Fingertips to the earth
and then shift that

right hip crease back 
for a little runner's stretch.

Flex your right toes towards
your face, deep breath in.

Long breath out as you roll
through that right foot

and come back to
your nice low lunge.

Curl the back toes under,
lift the back knee.

Inhale, look forward.

Exhale, plant the palms,
step the right foot back,

Plank Pose.

So lift up between your 
two shoulder blades so that

it's not collapsed in 
the upper back body

but you feel this doming effect.

Then re-establish this 
reach through your heels

and this length 
through your crown.

Draw the low abs in.

And breathe.

Beautiful. Then you can 
slowly lower to the knees

or keep the knees lifted

as you slowly lower
all the way down to the belly.

Inhale, we rise up,
Cobra or Upward Facing Dog.

And exhale to soften.

Forehead back
down to the earth.

Good, curl the toes under,
inhale in.

Exhale, press up, 
power up, Plank Pose.

Quietly whisper to yourself,
"I am strong."

I am strong.

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

Inhale in here, bend the knees.

Exhale, look forward.
Make your way to the top.

Feet hip width apart.
Let everything go.

Maybe take some
horsey lips here.

(audibly exhales)

That woke Benji up.

On your next inhale, 
lift halfway.

Nice long beautiful neck.

Good, then exhale
to soften and fold.

This time step the
right foot back, right foot.

Lower the right
knee to the ground.

Left knee is over left ankle.

Hug into the midline.

Feel that connection as
you rise up, Crescent Lunge.

Reaching the fingertips
all the way up towards the sky.

Press into the
top of that back foot.

Lift up from the pelvic floor.

Breathe.

On an exhale, 
soften everything back down

and we'll send the 
hips back for our stretch.

Flex the left toes 
towards your face,

pull the left hip crease back.

Breathe.

Lovely. Now roll through,

you're maybe not 
gonna actually roll through,

but the idea is that 
we roll through this foot,

just paying attention 
to how we move.

We're gonna lift
that back knee up.

Breathe in.

Breathe out. Press the 
palms back to the earth.

Step the left toes back.

Right knee hugs in.

Little mindful
mountain climber here.

Try to hug your right
heel up towards your body.

Good, then send it back.
Left knee hugs in.

Try to hug your left
heel up towards your body.

Hello, low abs.
Here we go.

Right.

And left.

Right.

And left.

Right.

And left.
Last one.

Right.

And left.

Hips up high and back,
Downward Facing Dog.

Beautiful.

Bend your right knee,
keep your left leg straight.

You're gonna turn to look
underneath your right shoulder.

And then switch
with the breath.

Right heel down, 
bend the left knee,

turn to look underneath 
your left shoulder.

Then bend both knees, inhale in,
exhale, drop the heels,

straighten the legs.

You're gonna walk your hands,

listen carefully, all the way 
back towards your toes.

So now you're in a Forward Fold
at the back edge of your mat.

Shake the head 
a little yes, a little no.

Soft bend in 
the knees as you clasp

opposite elbow 
with opposite hand.

And you're just gonna draw

a little semi-circle 
left to right.

Relaxing any
tension in the shoulders.

Getting some healthy blood flow

to the head, the neck.

Soften through the jaw and come
back to center and release.

Hands are gonna come
to the waistline again.

Inhale in.

Exhale, press up, root to rise.

Once again, feeling that
connection with the feet on

the earth as if you're trying
to tear your yoga mat

in half right down the middle.

Draw the 
shoulder blades together

and allow them to 
melt down the body.

Total power pose.

So much power here rather than

like some of these 
pretzel-y postures, right?

It's all about the
energy we bring to it.

And having said that, 
let's drop the fingertips now,

and without looking down, 
so do not look at the ground,

if you do, it's okay, 
but if you can,

try to keep your chin up.

Allow the sound of
my voice to guide you.

We're gonna roll through
the right foot to walk

to the center of the mat.
And then the left foot.

And we're not gonna look down.

We're gonna come 
bring the feet together

at the center of your yoga mat.

I'm gonna turn
just to face camera.

But wherever you are in space,
just like own it.

Root down through your feet.

The ground is there.
You don't need to look down.

Root down.
And nice and easy,

hands are gonna 
come back to the waistline

if they are not already.

Nice and easy, you're
gonna think of that upward lift

through the front, that
grounding through the back.

You're gonna shift your
weight to your left foot.

Peel your right heel up.

Pause.

Inhale in.
Exhale from your core.

Imagine there's a marionette
string on your right knee

and it's slowly lifting it up.
Yeah, we're balancing.

Pressing into all four
corners of that left foot.

Hugging everything
energetically and with

muscle to bone into the midline.

Sweet. You can pause here 
and just play with that action.

It's gonna kind of change the
game rather than trying to get

into Tree Pose by looking down
and finagling our way there,

really trying to
do this from center.

So shifting to the left.
You can just play here.

Try and engage those low abs
that we've been playing with.

You might even take
the fingertips up high.

This is a
One-Legged Standing Tadasada.

And if you're falling all
over the place, no judgment.

Use this opportunity to
connect to that humility.

I love to (chuckles) have
a good chuckle at myself and

find a little levity. Right?

It's only Day 4, too.

If you'd like, 
we can take this now

into a Vrksasana, Tree Pose.

So you'll open up through the
hip and you can keep your toes

on the ground as an option.

We can bring the right
foot to the calf as an option.

We're gonna skip pressing
against the knee and we're

gonna maybe also offer
bringing the foot to the

inner left thigh as an option.

Think about opening 
your right hip,

lengthening the tailbone down, 
finding that lift in the heart.

Maybe reaching
the fingertips up.

Inhale in.

And exhale to let that go.

And shifting this experiment,
this playtime to the other side.

So especially if you've been
practicing for a long time,

see if you can slow it down 
and really try to find

this lift from the midline.

So shifting your weight as 
you're ready to the right foot,

peeling up with the left
and just left heel and just

pausing here for a second.

Just noticing what muscles can

I recruit in the 
center of my body.

And then imagine that

marionette string 
lifting you up.

Maybe going down.

Take it up.

Maybe you take the
arms all the way up.

Maybe you're starting to get
a little warm around your head

(chuckles), around your brow.

And then maybe we take 
it into the Tree Pose today,

opening up through the left hip.

So in Tree we get this unique
opportunity to find the middle

too where the left foot
may press into the right leg.

We kind of want to press back,
finding that center line.

And this really kind of makes
our balancing practice more

sustainable, which yes, (laughs)
is a big metaphor as well.

When we kind of find that 
dance between both sides,

hugging to middle.

Alright, however
that went for you,

take a deep breath.

Inhale lots of love in.

As you exhale, release, bring
the hands behind the head.

Fingertips to interlace,
feet hip width apart.

Inhale, lift the chest.

Exhale, take it to one side.

Bend the knees,
rounding through.

Little love for the spine.

The same old diddy
that we've done before.

See if you can
find something new.

Maybe bending a little deeper.

Maybe finding a
new breath pattern.

And then sending it
the opposite direction.

And then releasing.

Without looking down, 
you got this,

lengthen through the 
crown of the head,

walk nice and tall to 
the top of your mat.

You don't need to look down.
The ground is there.

You know this.
It's got you.

Alright, and then reach the

fingertips up high 
towards the sky.

Last time, 
Forward Fold all the way down.

Alright, now listen carefully.

You're gonna walk your 
feet as wide as the yoga mat

here in your Forward Fold.

Now take a couple moments to
clasp opposite elbow again and

just sway a little side to side,

pressing into all four
corners of the feet.

Then continue
to bend your knees.

Release the hands to support
you and we're gonna slowly

work to drop our
center down in space.

Now I know this 
is quite challenging,

so we have lots of options here.

First, lift the heels.

Come into more of
a froggy position.

We're not gonna be
here too long either.

Just kind of
testing the waters.

And you can keep 
a little sway going here

with the heels lifted.

Or we can already start
to ground through the feet.

Kind of coming into
variation of Malasana.

Palms either on the earth,
fingertips on the earth,

or palms pressing together.

If the palms are pressing
together and you're feeling

pretty low to the ground here,
lift up a little bit.

Find that lift up through
the pelvic floor and find this

pressing out of the arms into
the legs and the squeezing of

the legs into the arms.

So we have lots of
different options here.

Breathe everyone, 
all together now (chuckles).

And then slowly,
listen carefully,

you're gonna keep
the feet kind of active.

So spread your toes, 
spread your fingertips,

walk your hands behind you,

and we're gonna 
slowly transition to a seat.

Now if that transition 
is just not right for you,

you can find your way 
to this Cobbler's Pose

in a way that feels

honorable (laughs).

And then we're gonna grab the
ankles, draw the heels in just

a bit and lift up
through the spine.

This is a great posture 
to kind of check, do I,

could I benefit 
from a little lift,

like a little blanket or 
a block or a towel?

And the way you can tell
is if your spine is tending to

really collapse back here,
totally normal.

This is kind of where
we are in the everyday.

Then it could be nice to
lift the hips up a little bit

higher so you can find
this length with more ease.

So may not need in this moment,
but maybe for tomorrow.

Alright, sit up nice and tall.

Tops of the thigh bones,
the femur is gonna draw down.

And it's not that we're
pressing it's more of like

doing the work on the inside.

So that intention of really
grounding down with the thighs

and finding that lift
up through the center.

This type of work translates
off the mat into our everyday

more than you'll ever see.

That impact, 
we just cannot name

so that's why 
I continue to do this

and I'm thankful
that you're here with me.

Let's spend one
more deep breath in here.

And then as you exhale,
you can release that bind.

Actually, let's take 
it forward. You know what?

Let's take it
forward for a breath.

As you exhale,
let's take it forward.

Let's improvise.

Just felt like my
body wanted to do that

so we'll insert that in.

And then we'll release and
let's send the legs out long.

Point thy toes, 
send the fingertips forward.

And let's slowly begin to roll
it down, starting by engaging

the muscles of the low, you
can tell my voice changes too

when I engage those
muscles below low abs.

So low abs
finding that C-curve.

Again, I want to prep you guys.

The legs may fly up and
you might fall, that's fine.

We're just one day 
at a time, checking in,

challenging ourselves.

And then eventually you're
probably already there,

but we can allow 
ourselves to relax

the weight of the 
body fully into the mat.

Alrighty, one last
stretch for the hips.

Bend your left knee,

cross your right ankle over 
the top of the left thigh.

Reclined Pigeon.

Lift the legs up,
thread the needle.

You're gonna reach between
the legs here (chuckles).

Flex the feet.

Interlace the fingertips behind
your left hamstring and then

squeeze those legs up
towards your chest, breathe.

Any soft, easy movement here
that feels good, explore that.

And return to the
sound of your breath.

And then slowly release.

Take it to the other side.

One final stretch.

And this one is just 
such a wonderful pose

I feel like for rooting down, 
grounding down.

You know, 
balancing postures, great.

Nothing shows you the truth
more than a balancing posture.

But this Reclined Pigeon is
one of my favorites for when

I need to ground, to root,

to feel the mat rising up 
to meet my back body.

To open up the hips

and relax my shoulders.

Let gravity just
kind of draw them down.

When you're ready, unravel.

Can hug the
knees into the chest.

Maybe take a Happy Baby.

Any other
movement that feels good.

Otherwise, we are ready
to extend the legs out long.

Let's bring both hands
to the low belly today.

Close your eyes.

You can stay here 
after this video ends

as long as time allows.

Just breathing into your belly.

Maybe breathing
in on a five count

and exhaling on a five count.

And if this is all 
that time allows for,

you may notice it doesn't 
take too much

to root down

and to feel the support

that is always there.

Thank you as
always for being here.

Look forward to
seeing you tomorrow.

Let's take a final
breath in together.

We'll close right here with
the hands on the belly

as we breathe out together.

Root in the good stuff.

What do I want to root into?

Just a little contemplation to

take on into the 
rest of your day.

Take care everyone.

Namaste.

(light music)