- Hello everyone and
welcome to Yoga With Adriene.

Today we have a quick
but effective meditation for

helping to balance the nervous
system in difficult times.

You don't need much today,

just a willingness
and a little bit of time.

If you want to 
sit up on something,

go ahead and grab it now.

Let's get started.

(upbeat music)

Alright, my darling friend,

let's begin in a
comfortable seat.

You come into a position
that feels right for you today.

I'm seated up on a
meditation cushion.

How convenient.
(chuckles)

But you can sit up
on a little blanket

or just on the ground.

You can also do this in a chair,

on a couch or even lying down.

If you feel like you can muster
the energy to sit upright,

I will encourage that for today

just because we're gonna start
off with the little breathwork

where it might be nice to

be seated tall,

erect in the spine,

but again,
choose your starting position.

And as you're ready,
go ahead and close your eyes.

And just allow the sound of
my voice to guide you here.

Don't need necessarily

to have a 
visual for this practice.

Of course, peek at me
whenever you need to.

But thank you for
letting me be your guide.

Just take a moment here
to relax your shoulders down.

And maybe make a couple active

gestures to sit a
little bit taller.

But then after that,

just imagine the crown
of your head reaching up.

Almost like the 
top of a coat hanger

and then your
body's hanging on that hanger.

And in our yoga practice,
we talk a lot about opposition.

You kind of have that
sensation here of lifting and

lengthening up through
the center channel, the body.

And this softening,

this soft grounding

as the shoulders are heavy,

the hips heavy,
the limbs

soft and relaxed.

We've already begun.
We're in it.

Just start to notice
what it's like today.

Are you fidgeting a lot?

Is your mind boppin'
around from thought to thought?

Just a reminder,
this is the practice.

That is exactly,

exactly where you should be,

where I would
presume for you to be.

(soft music)

Soften through the
skin of the forehead,

relax your jaw.

And I'll invite us together to

slowly begin to
gently deepen the breath.

And then see if you can
find stillness outside of that.

So the movement is coming from

the soft inhalation

and the gentle exhalation.

And we're starting to remove
all the extraneous movement.

Just do your best to continue

to slowly draw
your attention inward.

And on your next inhale,

see if you can 
breathe in on a six count

and out on an eight count.

I'll guide us through a few.

Here we go. 
Inhaling for six, five,

four, three,

two, one.

Exhaling for eight, seven,

six, five,

four, three,

two, one.

Inhale, six,

five,

four,

three,

two,

one.
Empty it out for eight,

seven,

six,

five,

four,

three,

two, one.

Now on your own,

you can keep the count 
or you can release it,

but I just wanted to really
give us the opportunity to

extend the inhale
and elongate the exhale.

(soft music)

And finish 
whatever elongated breath

you're working on now

and let it go.

So letting the pranayama go and

just allowing your breath
to do whatever it wants to do

naturally as we come to reside

in this seated meditation.

(soft music)

Slowly bring your
awareness back to your body.

See if you can sit
up a little bit taller,

gently, with ease,

finding more length
from the crown of the head.

Then slowly 
bring your attention,

your awareness to

any sounds that are around you.

Bring some energy
back to the body,

maybe moving the
fingers a little bit.

And moving the
tongue around in the mouth.

Maybe feeling your teeth,

your gums.

And then we'll
bat the eyes open,

bring the palms together.

Take a deep breath in.

As you exhale,
just notice how you feel.

We'll close with just a

easy, reverent bow.

Inhale in.

And exhale to bow.

Thanks for joining me,
I'll see you next time.

(soft music)