- Hello everyone,
welcome to Yoga With Adriene.

I'm Adriene and
this is sweet Benji.

And today we have a
love wins practice for you.

This is for those days 
when you're feeling down

or feeling kind of drab or 
maybe you're in struggle city,

but deep down inside you
know that you are fabulous.

You know that you are love and

you just need to move and
breathe it out with a friend.

So hop into something
comfy and let's get started.

(upbeat music)

Alrighty, let's begin in a seat.

So come on down to the ground,
take your time getting there.

You can sit up on a 
little somethin', somethin'

if you're feeling it,
(chuckles)

if you have a blanket with you.

And let's drop in together.

Just sit up nice and tall,

whatever you're
coming to this practice with.

Bring it, it's welcome.

I love you.

That's really what
this practice is all about.

Reconnecting, tapping back into

our powerful source of love.

If you feel comfortable,
you can close your eyes.

If that feels uncomfortable
or unsafe for whatever reason

I like to just 
take my focus down

gently past my nose,

just kind of soften
my peripheral vision.

So choose what's right for
you today and we just want to

begin to guide
our attention inward.

And so shutting down the
eyelids a little bit helps.

See if you can sit up a
little bit taller here.

And as you're ready,
take a deep breath in.

And just slow exhale to release.

Again, big breath
in through the nose.

And exhale out
through the nose or mouth.

Listen to your body here.

Inhale in deeply.

And exhale completely.

Now drop your chin to your chest
and continue to breathe in.

And out slowly,
mindfully with awareness.

And we'll start to 
add the layer of

checking in with 
the neck and shoulders.

So keep breathing and start to

move the neck
slowly round and round.

I like to think of
drawing a circle with my nose.

Nice and slow.

And then take it in
the other direction.

Again, maybe drawing
a circle with your nose.

It just kind of 
keeps it integrated

for me instead of kind of just

rolling my head around.

Potentially hurting my neck,

(chuckles) I like to
use the nose as a guide.

It's kind of a
good lesson in life.

(chuckles) Just kidding.

Okay, bring the
head back to center.

Think about aligning your head

over your heart and
your heart over your pelvis,

your center.

Take a deep breath in here.

And as you exhale,

draw the shoulders down,
way down away from the ears.

Capture just a moment of

stillness to notice
how you're feeling.

Just feel
yourself in this moment.

Again, whatever you're coming
to the mat to today is great.

It's welcome.

And you know,

I just want to remind
all of us in these moments,

we can be honest about how

we're feeling and
where we're struggling.

But you can also be honest
about where you're feeling good.

And if you're coming to the mat

feeling fabulous or
things like that can also be

celebrated in these
types of practices,

in my opinion,

every time we
show up for practice.

It doesn't always have to
be when we are in sorrow.

Remembering to honor and love

and celebrate our wins

and our uniqueness.

Cool.

Bat the eyelashes open.

Let's take it
forward onto all fours.

Move slow.

Move like you love yourself
is what I always like to say.

So we kind of
jerk ourselves around,

you know, just think 
about even getting

in and out of the car or
in and out of the subway.

We're kind of
always moving and grooving.

On the mat,

you can practice
moving in different ways,

ways that feel good and

remembering that
how we move matters.

So as you come into all fours,
we're gonna do a little

creative version of
spinal flexion today.

Many of us know the
structure of Cat-Cow.

So you can use that
as a starting point,

but then start to just move the
body in a way that feels good.

Hi, Benji.
Bye, Benji.

If the feet are tight,
for example,

you can lean
back hips to heels.

If the shoulders are tight,

you can start to bump
the hips left to right,

moving the shoulders.

Maybe some circles with the rib
cage would feel awesome today.

And then as you're 
moving through this

creative spinal flexion,

see if you can
synchronize with your breath.

Think about your breath
being not just this thing that's

gonna calm you down
and make you

do yoga better.

But for today,
just for fun,

think of the breath
as your heart's song.

And if you're like,
"Okay, Adriene, I get it."

That's fine.

But just listen to
the sound of your breath.

See if you can
make an audible sound.

Think of this as your spirit

or your essence that
you're connecting to.

And so when we think about
marrying that to the movement,

things get more interesting,
at least for me.

They get a little juicier.

Alright, peel the hips up and
keep this little dance going,

this exploration,

this little experiment
as you breathe and move.

Take it up to
Downward Facing Dog.

Just keep it going.

Pedal out the knees,
stretch through the legs.

Relax your neck.

And press into your knuckles.

Lovely.

Now slowly lower
back to the knees,

bring the toes together,
knees wide,

and send the hips back
for Extended Child's Pose.

Melt your heart down,
forehead towards the mat.

Inhale, lots of love in.

Exhale, lots of love out.

Beautiful.

Press into the tops of the feet.

Move from center, so gather
your abs up towards the spine

and from there,
move all the way forward.

You're gonna
interlace the fingertips,

walk the knees
underneath the hips,

and we're coming
into a forearm Plank.

What?

So press into your elbows,

reach through the heels,

gather up those abs,

and lengthen the
crown of the head forward.

Breathe in here.

Breathe out here.

Breathe in here.

Breathe out here.
If you took a break, no worries.

Come back for this
last cycle of breath.

Let's do it together.
We're stronger than we think.

Inhale in.

And exhale out.

Lovely. Lower the knees here.

Puppy's Pose.

Press into the palms,
so release the grip.

Press into the palms.

Walk the knees back.

Tailbone up towards the sky,
and we melt the heart deeply.

Big shoulder opener here,
big heart opener.

Stretching the front body.

It's like a long puppy belly
here is what you can imagine.

And then take a deep breath in.

Use your exhale to slowly
slide through onto your belly.

Hips press into the earth,
and we come into Sphinx Pose.

Breathe.

So there's like a sophistication
to this posture that I love.

You press into the hips,
press into the tops of the feet.

You anchor your shoulder blades
together and down the back body,

and then find the length.

Essentially,
this is spinal extension.

So you want to find the
length in the cervical spine.

So lengthen through
the crown of the head.

And then you can
bring a little attitude,

a little love,

a little sass to this
gesture and do it slow.

So dig into your elbows.

Inhale in, look forward.

Exhale, slow turn to look
past your right shoulder.

Feel that deep
stretch from your left temple,

left jaw all the way
down to your left elbow,

left hip.

It's all connected and
then come back to center.

Hold onto your
focus and slow and steady,

take it to the other side.

Nice. Bring it 
all the way back.

Release the head.

Drag the palms
underneath the shoulders,

curl the toes under,

press all the way up to Plank

and then send it to
Downward Facing Dog.

On your next inhale, lift your
right leg up towards the sky.

Exhale, shift it forward.

You're gonna step it all the way
up and pivot on the back foot.

From here, we're gonna
rise up for Warrior II.

So you're gonna
open up the arms,

right fingertips forward,
left fingertips back.

Just take a second
to find your footing.

Bend that front knee deeply.

Pull the pinkies back and

lengthen through
the crown of the head.

Neck nice and long.

Then keep that front knee bent,
Reverse Warrior.

Right fingertips
reach up and over.

And we lengthen
through the side body.

Keep the bent knee.

Engage the left inner thigh.

Now have fun with this move,

cartwheel it all the
way back to your lunge.

Plant the palms.
Step it back, Plank.

Slowly lower to your belly.

Inhale for a Cobra.

Exhale to release.

Press up to Plank here.

Quietly whisper to yourself,
"I am strong."

I am strong.

And then send the
hips up high and back.

Once again, Down Dog.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

On your next breath in,
lift the left leg up high.

Exhale, shift it forward
and then step it all the way up.

Pivot on the back foot 
and we rise up, Warrior II.

Take your time.
No rush.

Now find your footing.

So once you find your footing,
your foundation,

you start building from 
the ground up, right?

We all know this and our
physical practice gives us a

chance to really embody that
and remember that in our bodies.

Front knee stays bent.
Here we go.

Big gesture up and over.

Left fingertips reaching back.

Engage the right inner
thigh for a little support.

Breathe.

Reach, reach, reach

and then cartwheel
it all the way back down.

Take up space.

Come back to your lunge.

Awesome. Step the 
left foot back here.

Breathe in.

Breathe out as you
slowly lower to the ground.

On your next breath in,
rise up, Cobra.

And exhale, soften and release.

Curl the toes under, drag the
hands underneath the shoulders.

Inhale,

press up to Plank again and
quietly whisper to yourself,

"I am strong."

I am strong.

Hips up high and back.

Downward Facing Dog.

Nice.
Take a deep breath in here.

And a long breath out.

Inhale, lift the right leg high.

Listen carefully.
Exhale, right knee comes all

the way up and through
for a One-Legged Pigeon.

Press into the
top of the back foot.

Tent the palms,
so you're gonna lift the palms,

press into the fingertips.

Inhale, lift up.

Find length through the crown.

Breathe in.

Stay here. Draw the
shoulder blades together.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

On the exhale, you can 
come to the forearms if

you like or maybe
you stay upright today.

Couple breaths here.

And then slowly bring
the hands to the mat.

We'll gently press back
up to Three-Legged Dog.

Nice.

Then lower the right foot.

Right heel to the
ground and inhale,

lift the left leg up high.

Exhale, take it all the way

forward for your
One-Legged Pigeon.

Take a look back at that right
foot and really press the top

of that right foot 
into the ground.

Try to get your 
toes, ankles, and shin

all in one line 
so it's not curving.

And then we press up.

We find the lift
of the heart here.

So there's
tightness in the hips.

There's a lot
going on down there.

And yet from there we
listen and slowly maintain this

awareness up through the
midline through our heart space.

Take a deep breath in.

And then keep 
that listening going

as you
soften and surrender,

maybe bringing the
forearms to the earth.

Couple cycles of breath here.

And then bringing the
hands slowly back to the mat and

returning to that 
Three-Legged Dog

as you inhale in.

As you exhale, lower
the left leg to the ground.

We're gonna come to the knees,

allow them to
gently kiss the mat.

And we're gonna
swing the legs to one side,

any side, and slowly 
come to lie on our backs.

When you get there,
hug your knees into the chest

and give yourself
a little massage.

You can soften your
gaze here or close your eyes.

Nice.

Then extend the left leg long

and hug the right knee 
into the chest, breathe in.

As you exhale, take a twist,
right knee over to the left,

opening up
through your right arm,

your right wing,

your right armpit chest.

And then slowly
melt it back to center,

bring the left knee in,
extend the right leg out.

Inhale in.

Exhale, take your 
left knee over to the right,

open up through your left wing,
your left arm.

Feel that stretch 
through the pec.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

And breathe out.

And slowly bring
it back to center.

Allow the feet to come as
wide as your yoga mat here.

If you have a blanket and you
want to use it here as a pillow,

you could.

We'll allow the knees 
to come together

and allow the hands
to gently rest on the belly.

Close your eyes 
or soften your gaze

and feel the warmth of
your hands here on your center.

Draw your attention
to this loving awareness.

This opportunity
for loving awareness.

And just be with this feeling,
whatever it is for you,

of loving awareness.

Then you can stay with that or

there's an invitation to 
send that loving awareness

to others.

Other people
practicing this video.

Someone who's in need
of a friend right now.

Even those who 
are working hard

to show up for others.

One way that I like to do
this that just feels really

actionable on the mat
is to think about

inhaling love in.

And exhaling love out.

So it's a give and take.

Inhale love in.

And exhale love out.

And one more time,
inhale lots of love in.

And exhale lots of love out.

Walk the feet together,

can extend one leg
and then the other.

If it feels good,
take the arms all the way up

and overhead for a
nice full body stretch.

And we'll bring
the palms together,

thumbs to third eye.

That's to that
seat of intuition.

We like to think about this
point is like our inner knowing.

You know,
your intuition,

it's like your gut instinct,
your feeling, trust it.

I send lots of love to you and
thank you so much for sharing

your time and
valuable energy with me.

Hope to see you again soon.

Let's take one last
sip of breath in together.

And exhale to
close the practice.

Take good care.

(upbeat music)