- Hello, my sweet friends.

Welcome back to Flow,
your 30 Day Yoga Journey.

It's Day 12, Stability.

Let's get started.

(light rhythmic music)

Alright, come on
down to the ground.

Let's bring the palms together
at the heart center here.

Again, always take your
time getting down into this

position, no need to
rush or allow me to rush you.

This is where we'll begin today,

just feeling the 
palms pressed together

and using this mudra to lift 
the sternum up to the thumbs.

Finding our alignment of

head over heart,
heart over pelvis.

And then we're gonna start to

exaggerate this
pressing of the palms together,

bringing the
elbows out left to right.

And close your eyes or soften
your gaze and really bring

your awareness or your mind's
eye to the midline of your body.

So draw energy up
from your pelvic floor,

lengthen all the
way through the spine.

Crown of the head reaches,

and then we have this
pressing together of the palms.

Inhale in, exhale, release just
the fingertips behind you and

extend one leg out then
the other for Dundasana.

So you keep this long
line of the spine lifted.

In Sanskrit we call this Dunda,

which means stick or staff.

That's why this
is called Dundasana,

the Stick Pose
or the Staff Pose.

So we find the stability

in relationship to the Dunda.

And if you've been
practicing with me for a while,

you probably know about Dunda.

Okay, inhale in here.

Exhale, try to maintain that

awareness of the 
line of the spine,

the stability of the midline,

as you come
forward onto all fours.

So of course
we've been here before,

but now we're 
bringing the Dunda

concept into
highlight or into focus.

So if I'm really paying
attention to the midline,

I have, of course,

some natural
curvatures in the spine,

but here 
my belly can draw up

to stabilize that line.

My shoulders can pull back to
find more extension in the neck.

We breathe.

We land here.

And then when we're ready,

we'll curl the toes
under and we're gonna,

oops, buddy, I'm gonna need
you to move for this one.

We're gonna slowly walk it
back to our little squat and

even here we're
gonna try to think

of that center line,

also called the Sushumna,

the center channel.

And again, if you're not
able to find that length here,

that's all right.
It's all about out the process.

Alright, then
we'll walk it back out.

Here's a great one to find this
line of stability, Plank Pose.

Feet hip width apart,

lengthen through 
the crown of the head.

So if the neck
is collapsed here,

we're definitely cutting off
the stability of that midline,

so find extension
through the crown.

Good, inhale in.

Exhale, lower to the knees.

Come back to Tabletop Position.

Inhale, 
extend the right toes out,

left fingertips forward.

Exhale, bend the elbow,
bend the knee, obliques.

Keep that stability
of the center line here.

Nice, then inhale in.

Exhale, round it.

Inhale, extend.

Exhale, bend elbow, bend knee.

Wake up the abs.

Inhale, extend.

Exhale, round and squeeze.

Last time, inhale, extend.

Exhale, slow and with control,

bend the left elbow
to the left hip crease.

Right knee to right elbow.

Neck is long.

Inhale, extend.

Exhale to round.

Grab your right
knee or right shin.

Squeeze and lift everything up.

And then release.

Take a second,

you can rotate the
right wrist here if you need.

And then we'll take
it to the other side.

Inhale, find extension
through the left leg, right arm.

So we keep this line of Dunda,

crown to tail,
as we bend the elbow,

bend the knee.

Inhale, extend,

press into the top of your
right foot for stability.

Exhale, round everything in,
knee to nose.

Good, inhale, extend.

Another chance to try keeping

that neck long as you
bend the elbow, bend the knee.

Squeeze the abs.

Inhale, extend.

Slight bend in the left elbow.

Here we go, round it in.

And one more time, you got this.

After your final round,
grab that left knee,

left shin, squeeze and lift.

And then release, let it all go.

Maybe you rotate the
left wrist little bit here.

Alright, walk the palms forward,
curl the toes under,

peel the tailbone
up to Downward Dog.

Now see if we can find it here
depending on the flexibility

in your body or the lack
of flexibility in your body.

This shape will have a very
different look (chuckles)

and feel for a lot of people
particularly in the spine.

So let's see if 
we can draw awareness to

the stability of the front body.

Hug the low ribs in,

draw the navel in and
up to meet your spine.

So we're creating this nice
long line from the crown to

the tail or 
we're working towards that.

Nice. Bend the knees.

Now, inhale, look forward.

Exhale, slowly make your
way to the top of your mat.

Feet hip width apart.

And let's just take a
couple moments here to breathe.

You can shake that
a little yes, a little no,

stretch through
the backs of the leg,

bend the knees.

Stretch through the back.

Maybe you walk your hands
underneath your feet here

for a little forearm
or wrist stretch.

You can walk your toes right 
up to your of wrist creases.

If this is the first
time you're doing this,

it's a little weird at first but

weird is not bad in my book.

And then if you're
on your hands here,

slowly release them,

bend the knees,

and let slowly
roll up to Mountain.

Alright, so let's
make this an active pose,

really grounding
through the feet.

Think about spiraling
your feet externally,

but you're not moving them.
So they stay grounded,

but energetically
you're turning them out.

Almost as if you're trying
to rip your yoga mat in half.

That turns on the legs,
(clicks tongue) wink, wink.

Kneecaps lift, quads tone.

We keep a neutral spine,

but we find this lift up through
the front body energetically,

so the chest is lifting.

Crown of the head,
of course, lifting,

and then this grounding
through the back body.

And I like to think of my
shoulder blades melting

down towards the earth,
towards my heels.

And try to distribute your

weight evenly between all
four corners of your feet,

whatever that means to you.

And to test that,
we're gonna lift the toes.

Bonus points if
you don't look down.

And if you did, don't worry.

Just something to play with.

Alright, now bring your gaze
up and out if it isn't already.

And let's inhale, reach
all the way towards the sky.

Today, bring the palms together,

interlace the fingertips, 
and stand up nice

and tall here
with the steeple grip.

Think of the Dunda, find
that stability of the midline.

Hug the low ribs in.

Inhale in, exhale, take the 
fingertips to the right

as you bump 
the hips to the left.

Good, slowly
bring it back to center.

Inhale again,
find length and then exhale,

take it to the other side.

Inhale, rise up.

Exhale, slow and steady.

Take it down into the fold.

Inhale, halfway lift.

Money opportunity
to find the Dunda.

Hug those low ribs in,
lengthen through the crown.

Nice, release everything.

Plant the palms,
step the right foot back,

just the right foot.

Lower the 
right knee to the earth.

Inhale, send the
fingertips behind the ears.

Stack your spine,

press into the top of your
foot if that feels more stable,

and then send the
arms all the way up.

So we're not leaning forward,

but we're finding
head over heart,

heart over pelvis here.

Open the palms wide,
give yourself some space.

Lift up through the front body

and ground
through the back body.

Nice, now bring the palms
together and slowly slice down

the middle to come all
the way back to your lunge.

Lift the back knee,
inhale to look forward,

let your heart radiate forward.

Then exhale, plant the palms,
step the left toes back,

inhale in for Plank.

Exhale, lower to your belly.

Inhale, we lift the chest,
Cobra, careful not to push.

And then exhale, release.

Inhale, press up to
all fours or Plank.

Exhale, Downward Dog.

Nice, take a couple
breaths here, pedal it out.

Then bend your knees,
look forward, inhale.

Exhale, slowly make
your way to the top.

From your Forward Fold,
inhale, halfway lift.

Nice long neck.

Exhale, soften and fold.

Root to rise here,
inhale, reach for the sky.

Big breath, big stretch.

Exhale, hands
together at the heart.

Inhale in.

Exhale to release the arms.

Inhale to reach
up towards the sky.

Interlace the fingertips.

Find the steeple grip.

This time think up and over.

Go to the left.

Inhale through center.

And to the other side.

Inhale to center.

Exhale, slow and steady
down we go into the fold.

Inhale, halfway lift.

Find length.

Exhale, soften and bow.

Fingertips come to the mat.

Left foot steps back.

We come onto the left knee
and we rise up slowly.

Press into the top of
the back foot for stability,

reaching the fingertips up.

So stack the head and the
heart and the pelvis here.

Pull the right hip crease back.

Imagine you're pulling your

right foot back and
your left shin forward,

finding that lift,
that Sthira,

that strength and
stability from the ground up,

lifting up through the spine.

Nice, then inhale, look up, 
palms come together.

Exhale, slice
it down the middle.

Come all the way
back to your lunge.

Lift the back knee,
step the right toes back,

belly to Cobra or
Chaturanga to Upward Facing Dog.

Moving with your breath.

Meeting spot, Down Dog.

Hips up high.

Long beautiful spine.

Nice, bend the knees.

From here, inhale, look forward.

Exhale, make your 
way to the top.

Forward Fold.

Inhale, halfway lift.

Exhale, soften and bow.

Root to rise here.

Inhale, reach for the sky.

Exhale, palms come together and
slowly back down to your heart.

Inhale in here.

Big, big, big, big breath.

And then exhale, release the
arms down gently at your sides.

Again, inhale, 
reach for the sky,

interlace the fingertips.

Exhale, side bend.

Inhale to center,
take it to the other side.

Inhale to center.

Exhale into the fold.

Inhale, follow your breath.

Lift and lengthen, flat back.

Exhale, soften and bow.

Nice, from here,
step the right foot back.

This time the back
knee can be lowered,

just like we did before,

or maybe we keep it lifted.

We inhale, slow and steady,
reach the fingertips forward.

Find that alignment of
head and heart and pelvis.

Maybe you bend the back knee
to help with that a little bit.

Now this time
we're gonna inhale,

bring the palms together.

Exhale, slice it down towards

the left front
corner of your mat.

Bring the outer edge of the

right elbow to the
outer edge of your left thigh.

Press the palms together,
just like we did before.

Really finding that length
from the crown of the head.

And we can do this with
the knee down here, no problem.

Inhale, tuck the chin,
lengthen, even more,

find that extension
through the crown.

Nice, and then exhale,

slow and with control,
as you can,

bring it back to your lunge.

Great work, 
bring the left foot back.

Belly to Cobra,
Chaturanga to Upward Facing Dog.

Find a little flow here.

Meet in Downward Dog.

From Down Dog,
inhale to look forward.

Exhale to make
your way to the top.

Forward Fold.

Inhale, halfway lift,
your version, long neck.

Exhale, soften and bow.

Root to rise here,
inhale, reach for the sky.

Exhale, hands to heart.

Take your time.

Biggest breath you've
taken all day here, inhale.

Exhale, release the arms,
Mountain Pose.

Inhale, reach for the sky.

Last time,
interlace the fingertips.

Exhale, side bend.

Inhale to center.

Exhale, side bend.

Inhale to center.

Exhale, bend the knees,

slow and steady,
down into the fold.

Inhale, halfway lift.

Exhale, soften and bow.

This time step
the left foot back.

Again, we can
lower the back knee,

just like we did before,
or maybe we experiment,

this time with
keeping it lifted.

Pull the right hip crease back,

inhale, sweep the
arms up and overhead.

Breathe.

Work to find an
upright spine here.

And use the muscles of the
abdominal wall to stabilize,

to find that
support in the spine.

Inhale in, exhale,
palms come together.

This time we're going to slice

a line down towards the
front right corner of the mat.

Outer edge of the left elbow

comes to the outer
edge of the right knee.

We press the palms together
and we use that connection,

that action to find
more length in the Dunda,

in the spine.

Back knee can lower, no problem.

But lifting it is actually a

lot easier in some ways
because you have the

reaching of that left heel
back to engage your left glute

which helps you a
lot in this posture.

It's a strong muscle.
One more breath, inhale.

Exhale, slow and with control,

best you can,
back down to the mat.

Plant the palms,
step the right toes back.

Last little vinyasa here.

Slowly lower to the belly.

Lift up to Cobra.

Exhale to release.

From here, stack the palms
one on top of the other

and rest your
forehead on your hands.

We'll bring the toes to touch
and the heels out left to right.

Take a breath here.
If it feels good,

you can rock the hips or the
pelvis a little left to right.

Feel your belly on the
earth as you breathe in.

And feel it soften and
release as you breathe out.

One more breath.

Slowly preparing 
for Salabhasana.

We're gonna walk the heels back
in line with the hip points

and you're gonna
walk the fingertips out,

outer edges of the hands,
the pinkies on the ground.

Tuck the chin 
into the chest, inhale in.

As you exhale, from center,

press the
pubic bone into the earth

and slowly begin
to lift the fingertips,

lift the toes.

Neck stays nice and long.

Extension through
the crown of the head.

Breathe.

If the arms are too much,

we can use the palms on the
earth to just lift the toes.

You can also experiment
with just lifting the arms by

pressing the
toes into the earth.

Breathe.

Notice if you're
holding your breath.

And slowly release.

Nice, we're gonna bring the

elbows to the
left side of the mat.

Shift the hips over as well.

And then this is a
great transition here.

You're just gonna (whooshes)

on your right side and
then come onto your back.

And then hug the
knees into the chest.

Take a deep breath in
like you love yourself.

And then exhale, sigh it out.
(sighs)

Daily practice
brings that connection,

that stability,
that awareness of the spine,

the center of the breath,

so that we can feel more aligned
and in the flow off the mat.

I love it.

Thank you for
being here with me.

Let's grab the
outer edges of the feet,

open up to a
quick Happy Baby here.

Hmmm.

And slowly
release the feet down.

If you wanna windshield wiper
the legs a little bit here,

feel free.

Eventually we'll
extend the legs out long.

Bring the palms together.

As you're ready,
thumbs to third eye.

Another beautiful day
of practice in the books.

You are my hero.

Thank you so
much for being here.

I look forward to
seeing you again mañana.

Inhale in.

Exhale to close.

Namaste.

(upbeat rhythmic music)