- What's up, everyone?

Welcome to Yoga With Adriene.

I'm Adriene, and today, we have
a core and restore practice.

Who said you 
can't have it all?

This practice targets
the muscles of the deep core.

So you're gonna get a
lot out of very little.

It's gonna require your 
attention and love for yourself,

but we'll take a
nice chill pill at the end,

and hopefully leave
you feeling awesome.

You want to know why?

Because you deserve it.

Let's get started.

(upbeat music)

Alright, way to show up.

Let's begin in a nice
comfortable seat

of your choice.

We're just gonna take a
little second to tune in.

So come on down 
to the ground.

Feel those sits
bones on the earth.

Do a little wiggle.

Any little movement 
that feels good.

And then let's
come to stillness.

Easier said than 
done, I know,

but just taking a 
moment here to land.

Maybe close your eyes, 
relax your shoulders.

And the breath, of 
course, a big part of our

movement practice today.

So start to
notice your breathing.

Trust that you chose the right
video, the right practice.

We have 20
minutes here together.

It's gonna fly by.

Building strength

from the inside out.

And today, really activating
the muscles of the deep core.

And we'll make sure you 
leave here feeling good,

taking some time 
to relax at the end.

Draw the palms together.

We'll lift the elbows, and 
press the palms actively

left to right here.

Lift the sternum, the chest
all the way up to the thumbs.

See if you can grow a
little bit taller in the spine.

And we'll take a deep
inhalation in together.

Here we go.
Breathe in.

Nice, long full breath.

And pause at the top.

Hold your breath.

And then exhale,
slow release out.

Empty, empty, empty.

Twice more like that.

Big inhale, keep pressing 
the palms together.

You're gonna
breathe into the belly.

Feel the ribcage expand
as you breathe in, in, in.

Pause here, shoulders relaxed,
retain the breath for a beat.

And then slow
exhale to release.

And one last time, breathing
in deeply through the nose.

Feel the ribcage expand.

Pause at the top.

Skin of the face relaxed.

And this time as you exhale, 
release the air,

draw the navel in 
towards the spine,

feel that activation of the 
core as you breathe out.

Lovely.

Bat the eyelashes open.

You can relax the arms, 
maybe take the hands

for a couple wrist 
circles here.

Hopefully that made sense.
And then let's come

on down to our backs.

Come to lie down, 
hug the knees into the chest.

Give yourself a big
hug here for a moment.

Feel the connection of
your body on the mat

or on the earth.

And let's take another
deep breath in together.

(chuckles)

And a long breath 
out together.

We were almost in sync
with Benji's breathing,

but not quite.

Just trailing behind.

As always with me and Benji,
he leads the way.

Okay, we're gonna just keep
one knee in, any knee,

and send one leg out, 
just for a little stretch.

Breathe in, 
and then switch.

Breathe in.

And then we're
gonna switch again.

And then we're
gonna switch again.

Now we're gonna keep switching,
but we're gonna slow it down,

and we're gonna really
pay attention to two things.

One, the placement 
of our spine.

So actually, 
let's go ahead and do this.

Bend both knees, bring the
soles of the feet to the mat.

Bring your hands
to the hip points.

And you’re just gonna rock 
the pelvis a little bit

back and forth.

And you can maybe bring
your thumbs to the low belly.

And just, as you tilt the
pelvis back and forth,

notice when those
low abs turn on.

And then we're gonna come to 
a little bit of a neutral spine.

So, sacrum's on the mat.

Low ribs are hugging down,
and you can kind of feel those

low abs turn on.

And then just really 
drive that navel down

to enhance the engagement

of the transverse abdominis.

Alright.

Great.

Now we're gonna return
to hugging one knee in,

and extending one leg out, 
but we're gonna try to maintain

this core connection.

You can stay with the 
head down here as

we begin to move 
back and forth.

Or, for a little more of a
challenge, you can start to

lift the head, 
the neck, the shoulders.

And find a little
breath pattern here.

You can point the toes 
or flex the feet,

just a nice conscious footing.

So we're actually doing
this in the neutral spine.

So there's a little space
between your low back,

but the sacrum and the 
low ribs are on the earth.

Tuck the chin slightly,
keep the shoulders relaxed.

There's no tension in
the neck muscles here.

So if there is, 
maybe you start to work

with the head down here.

So if you start to feel this in
the front of the hip creases,

let's check back 
in with the core,

and maybe you life 
the legs a little higher.

So you're not going straight
out, but more at a diagonal.

I'm starting to 
feel that warmth,

that fire in the belly.

I hope you are.

We're here for three,

two,

and one.

Beautiful.

Release everything.

Let's bring the feet
back to the mat, knees up.

We're gonna come 
into a Bridge here,

so snuggle the shoulder blades
underneath your heart space.

Palms press 
down to the earth.

We're just gonna start
with a slow, slow lift up.

So, focus today is 
on the abs, right?

So nice and slow, 
you're gonna start with the

tailbone lifting,
press into the feet.

And we're gonna pause here 
in this imprint position

with the low back 
flush with the mat.

Now, lift from the pelvic floor,
draw your navel down and in.

Hug the low ribs in 
towards your body,

so you feel that tight core.

And then from there, we're 
gonna keep the tight core today,

and we're gonna 
lift the hips up slowly,

pressing one vertebra 
into the mat at a time.

No need to go too high because
you're trying to maintain

that core engagement today.

So once you reach your top, 
then slowly soften through

the chest, and start to melt
it down, seeing if you can

maintain that core 
connection the whole way

until you come all the 
way back to neutral.

Alright, let's go again, 
nice and slow.

Again, focus on
the core engagement.

Starting with the tailbone
lifting, we come in through

that flush 
low back position.

This is a great place to
get everything turned on.

Wink, wink.

Lifting up through the pelvic
floor, drawing the navel down,

pressing the low ribs in
towards your body,

and then continuing 
to lift nice and slow.

Keep the shoulders relaxed,

skin of the face 
and jaw relaxed.

Once you meet your 
highest edge, no need to go

too high today, then we'll
start to melt it back down.

And then we're just gonna take
one more, a little bit faster now

on our own, just moving
through that sequence

with the core engagement.

Don't forget to breathe.

Beautiful.

When you come down, 
no need to rush.

We're gonna interlace 
the fingertips,

bring them behind the head,

cradling the back of the 
head and drawing the chin

into the chest.

So there are times 
where I cue a space

between the chin 
and the chest.

Today...not today.
(chuckles) Not today, folks.

There are times
where I cue elbows wide.

Today we're going to tuck
the chin into the chest,

and keep the elbows 
slightly tucked in.

So instead of here,
which I cue a lot, we're here.

And the difference really
is here, we're kind of working

the rectus abdominis.

And here, we're creating
a different shape in

our foundation to really
engage that deep core of those

muscles of the pelvic floor,
the low abdominals,

and the transverse.

So tuck the chin, 
elbows hug in.

We want to
really, really lift up.

So the shoulders are lifting,
and we're pressing

into the low ribs.

Now draw your
pelvic floor up and in.

Engage those low abs
by drawing the navel down.

And then again, reinforce
the hugging of the low ribs in.

Wee-woo!

So you don't have to
do a lot of crunches.

You already
start to feel it here.

If you feel okay here, 
we're gonna lift

the shins parallel 
to the ceiling.

If that's a little too much
today because you're working

these deeper muscles in perhaps 
a new way in your body,

you can still do these 
moves with the feet down.

So we're just adding a little
challenge by lifting the knees.

Alright. Inhale to lower slowly.

Exhale to lift.

But as you lift, it's not really 
happening from the shoulders.

It's happening as we reinforce
this core connection of pelvic

lifting up and in, 
navel down, and low ribs in.

Alright. Inhale to lower,
slow exhale to lift.

Inhale to lower,
slow exhale to lift.

Inhale to lower.

Exhale to lift.

Low ribs in.

Inhale, lower.

Exhale, lift.

Let's keep it going.

Navel to spine as you lift.

Three more.

On the third one, 
lift and hold.

If your knees are lifted,
extend your right leg out,

and bring it back in.

Left leg out,
and bring it back in.

Right leg out,
and bring it back in.

You got this.
Last one.

Left toes out,
and bring it back in.

Take a rest.

Let everything go.

Breathe in deeply.

And exhale completely.

Round two.

Let's go.
We got this.

Interlace the fingertips,
bring them behind the head.

Again, find your placement
of hugging those low ribs

down and in.

Chin to chest, and
elbows tucking in slightly.

Shoulders relaxed.

So before you 
even lift the feet,

or think of lifting 
the feet, let's engage,

lifting up through 
the pelvic floor.

We call this 
Mula Bandha in yoga.

Navel draws in and down.

Uddiyana Bandha in yoga.

And then hug the low ribs 
in to lift your shoulders up

a little bit higher. Woo!

Alright, option to do 
this with the feet down.

I'll demo that this time, 
but you can always lift

the feet back up.

So we're gonna cross over.

Inhale in.

Exhale.

Left shoulder
towards left thigh.

Now, keep both
hips evenly on the mat.

You're gonna really start to
feel that right oblique here.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Hold. Good. Now inhale,
come through center.

Keep the shoulders 
lifted, lifted, lifted.

And let's take it
to the other side.

So rather than, like, 
the bicycle crunch

that we've done
many times before,

we're taking the 
right shoulder

to the top of
the left thigh.

And we're keeping that right
hip heavy, heavy on the mat.

Hold.

Good. On your next inhale, 
come back to center.

Take it to the other side.

So crossing back and
forth now with your breath.

Keeping the shoulders lifted.

It's slow, it's controlled.

And if you see the muscles 
of your belly coming up,

see if you can maintain
that navel drawing in.

Of course, option
to lift the knees.

It's quite difficult here.

As you slowly move back
and forth, again, keeping those

hip points down is 
a little bit harder

with the knees lifted.

Alright. Let's do 
one more on each side.

It doesn't have to be big.

And then release, 
take a rest.

Woo-wee!

Alright.
Round three.

Interlace the fingertips, 
bring them behind the head,

find your beautiful
little neck cradle.

Inhale in.

Exhale, tuck the chin.

Lift the head, 
the neck, the shoulders.

Navel draws down.

Inhale in again.

Exhale to reinforce
low ribs to the mat.

We're gonna lift the
knees up, shins to hover.

Good.
Inhale in.

On the exhale, you're gonna
create a little sound that's

gonna help you maintain that
navel to spine connection

as you drop the 
right toes down.

Then lift them up.

Breathe in.
Exhale, left foot.

Lift them up.

Breathe in.
Exhale, right toes down.

And switch.

And each time you 
make that sound,

you're reinforcing the
navel down to the spine.

Shoulders are relaxed.

Muscles of the
neck are relaxed.

Slow and with 
control is good.

In these last few rounds,
let's see if we can all lift

a little bit higher.

One more to each side.

And release.

Oh man, so my new 
obsession, of course,

has been this 
deep core work,

and it is so cool

because it requires 
such an incredible

amount of your attention 
that I just think is

so, so wonderful,

and can be challenging.

Okay, guess what?

This is the last round.

Woo!

Confetti!

You're gonna bring
the hands underneath

the sacrum this time,

and legs up
towards the sky.

So I've worked long and hard
to straighten these legs here.

These hammies (chuckles)
always seem to shrink.

So if your knees are 
bent here, that's all good.

No need to force or press

to create a straight
leg shape.

Just feel it out.

So to start, we're gonna
flex the feet as if you were

holding a yoga block 
on your feet

or kind of pressing 
into a wall.

And you're gonna inhale in,

and if this is 
hurting your hands,

you can just bring your 
hands right by your bum

onto the earth.

Then you're gonna inhale in,
exhale, navel draws down

again, and we're just going to
lift the soles of the feet up.

Up, up, up, up,

shoulders relaxed.

Up, up, hug those
low ribs into your body.

Up, up, up,

up, up, up,
pressing in the palms.

Very small movement.

Up, up, up.

So we're not just moving from
the legs, we're really keeping

that active engagement
in the core for five.

You got this.

Four, three,

two, and one.

Beautiful.
Stay here.

We're gonna scissor the legs,
point the toes now.

Right leg drops down.

It comes up.
Left leg drops down.

And we alternate.

If it's starting to get
fussy in the low back,

just keep this 
scissor really small.

It's slow and controlled,

but maybe it is small 
and controlled.

And maybe if we're feeling
any tightness in the hips,

we start to just give
it a little turnout.

Little Pilates inspo here.

Alright.

And then last bit of this round
is you can stay exactly where

you are here, or we can
lift the head, the neck,

the shoulders, 
palms up towards the sky,

and continue here at 
the scissors lifted for

ten, nine,

eight, seven.

Slow ten. (chuckles)

Six, five,

four, three.

You got it. Stick with it,
lift it a little higher.

Two, and one.

Hug the knees 
into the chest.

Give it a good squeeze.

Take a deep breath in.

I can smell those
lilies on the table.

It’s so nice.

And then exhale,
let it go.

We're gonna do a 
little twist here,

so just bring the 
arms to the side.

Any side.

Hug the knees 
into the chest.

Twist to one side.

And then the other.

And then we'll come 
back to center,

and just bring the soles 
of the feet together.

Knees wide.

Maybe bring the
hands to the belly.

Take a deep breath in.

And a long breath out.

And on this next inhale,

really fill the belly.

Stretch.

And soften.

Exhale.

Let it go.

Good. Now bring the hands 
to the outer edges of the legs.

We're gonna come into Happy
Baby, so grab the outer edges

of the feet or
the inner arches.

Kicking the soles of the
feet up towards the sky

for a breath or two.

You can find some soft, 
easy movement here.

And then release 
one foot down.

And send one foot up
towards the sky

for a hamstring stretch.

You can keep this foundation 
leg bent, or you can straighten

it for a little bit of 
a deeper stretch.

Breathe.

And then slowly switch

to the other side.

Great. And then both feet down,

we're just 
gonna windshield wiper

the legs a little one way.

And then the other.

You can start to close 
your eyes a bit here.

Soften your gaze.

And then we'll keep
the left foot down,

kick the right foot up

for a little figure four,
a little Reclined Pigeon.

So you'll thread the needle
here, interlace the fingertips

behind your left hamstring,

your left thigh.

And then squeeze the
legs up towards your chest.

Breathe.

And when you're ready, 
release and switch.

Second side.

Listening to the
sound of your breath here.

Noticing how you feel.

And then release both feet.

We're gonna extend 
the legs out long.

Inhale, full body stretch.

Send the fingertips all
the way up and overhead.

Exhale, you're gonna send the
fingertips up towards the sky.

Navel draws down.

And we're gonna 
do a slow roll up,

fingertips towards the toes.

So if you need to
use your hands, you can.

Otherwise we're gonna roll up
all the way through seated

and into a Forward Fold 
with bent knees.

Again, use those
hands if you need to.

And then maybe 
there's one day

where you're doing 
this practice, and

you notice a different 
sensation in the core.

So it does take some time,
awareness, and conditioning.

But you got this.

I love that we're all here,
showing up to build strength

from the inside out.

Feel a nice stretch
in the back here.

Breathe in.

And long breath out.

Alright. Set yourself up 
for a final resting posture.

I'm gonna grab 
my bolster here.

Although it looks like
Benji's maybe using it.

Okay, no.

You can use a
blanket or a towel.

Maybe you don't 
need anything at all, nada,

you just start to 
find your Shavasana

by coming back 
down to the ground

and spreading your 
feet as wide as the mat,

your arms, same, 
nice and spacious.

When you get there,
take a deep breath in.

When you're all set up.

And as you exhale, just see
how fast you can surrender.

Letting go of all the 
weight in the body,

just surrendering 
it to the earth.

Close your eyes.

And then allow your 
breath to just flow

nice and easy, naturally.

Take a moment here to rest.

Relaxing through the feet.

The ankles.

Letting go through
the calves and the shins.

The knees, and the
backs of the knees.

The thighs, 
the hamstrings,

the quadriceps, 
the femur bones.

All the way to the hips.

Let your hips be heavy.

Let the bowl of the pelvis be
soft, so we're not gripping

or holding anywhere around 
the hips of the pelvis here,

but softening.

And relaxing through the belly.

At last.

Relaxing through the 
mid back, the ribcage.

And through the sternum,
the chest, and the upper back.

Make sure you're not gripping
or holding in the shoulders.

Relax your shoulders.

The arms, the wrists,

and the whole 
hand softening.

Heavy.

Part the lips, soften through
the jaw to relax the muscles

of the neck 
and the face.

And finally, allow your head
to be heavy in the earth,

taking

a breath or two 
here to just be,

to allow the brain 
and the body

to receive the
restorative benefit

of this practice as well.

Great, then as you're ready,

you can keep the
eyes closed here.

We're just gonna slowly
rock the head a little

side to side, 
ear to ear,

gaining a little stretch 
in the neck,

and a little massage
on the back of the head.

Start to gently
deepen your breath.

You can start to open the eyes 
as you bring some movement

back to the body, 
fingers, toes.

Maybe take one more
big full body stretch.

Thank you so much for 
joining me on the mat today,

and every other day.

I hope to see you again soon,
maybe tomorrow.

Let's bring the palms 
together in prayer.

Thumbs right up to that third
eye to the forehead today.

Just take a deep breath
in to close the practice.

Give thanks for this
time with yourself,

caring for yourself.

And exhale.

Thanks, everyone.

Take good care.

(upbeat music)