- Hello everyone,
welcome to Yoga With Adriene.

I'm Adriene and
this is sweet Benji.

And today, per your request,

we have a flow that is
good for beginners.

So people who are
new to vinyasa or flow,

or if you're someone who likes
to go to class at a studio or

gym and you just wanna 
slow it down with someone

you hopefully trust, (chuckles)

that would be me or Benji,
one of us,

then this would be a
good practice for you.

So this is a good intro
level to flow or vinyasa.

If you have a block, bring it.

If you don't have one,
no worries, I got your back.

Hop into something
comfy and let's get started.

(upbeat music)

Alright, let's begin
in a cross-legged seat.

So come on down to the ground.

I'm sitting on a block but
you can also sit on a blanket.

You can even roll your mat up

and sit with a
little lift like that.

And then as you come
into this tuning in position,

give yourself a little space so

you don't have to draw
the ankles super close in.

In fact, the traditional 
Sukhasana Pose,

we draw the ankles out,
we have a nice wide base.

Then sit up nice and tall
and take a deep breath in.

And as you exhale,

you can close your eyes
or soften your gaze and just

allow your shoulders to
drop as you land in this moment.

And then again,
a deep breath in.

And a long breath out,

relaxing the shoulders again,

just allowing
yourself to land here.

Whatever you're
bringing to this practice,

this moment,
whatever shape you're in,

mentally, emotionally,
physically, it's all good.

It's an honor and a
pleasure always to guide you.

We're gonna flow today,
so this is a beginner's flow.

So I really want to kind of

bring it down to 
a foundation level

to best support you.

And that foundation
level is going to be

to remember this one thing;

The breath always comes first.

In the flow practice,

the fuel that moves the body,

the gas comes from the breath.

And the quality of our movement
is also dictated by the breath,

particularly in
vinyasa and flow.

Although I feel that
way all the time, so.

So even if it feels quite hard,

we're going to keep a focus
on the breath the entire time,

conscious breathing.

Alright, on that note,

can bat the eyelashes open
and we're gonna inhale,

move into an
all fours position.

As you exhale,

start to get situated with the
wrists underneath the shoulders,

the knees directly
underneath the hips.

And you can move your block to

the front of the
mat if you have one.

Cat-Cow, inhale.

The first part of
the flow is here.

We inhale, drop the belly,
open the chest, look forward.

Exhale, press into the palms, 
round through the spine.

Inhale, drop the belly, 
look forward.

And exhale, navel draws up.

As you press into the hands,

press into the
tops of the feet.

Do a couple more with
the sound of your breath.

It can help to make the breath

audible if you're
familiar with Ujjayi breath,

the victorious breath.

That can help
anchor a busy mind.

Flow a couple more
times here with your breath.

Again, allowing the breath

to fuel the action.

Now come to neutral.

And the next
time you breathe in,

we're gonna extend the right
arm out and the left leg out.

You can do them one at a time.

This is a balancing act.

Inhale in.

Exhale, draw your limbs
in towards the center of your

body and round
through the spine.

And we flow here.

Inhale, extend.

Exhale, draw it in.

Move with your breath.

Inhale, extend.

Exhale, draw it in.

One more time.

Inhale, extend.

And exhale, draw it in.

Then release and we're
gonna switch to the other side.

Inhale, left arm, right leg out.

With your breath,
exhale round in,

drawing the limbs in.

Inhale, extend.

Exhale, draw it in.

So focus on the breath here.

And don't really feel like we
need to master this movement

and the details
of this movement,

but to really get our brains

used to moving with the
inhale and the exhalation.

Excellent.
When you're ready, release that.

We're gonna bring the
palms down to the earth,

knees wide and
send the hips back,

Extended Child's Pose.

Take a breath cycle here.

One inhalation in.

And a slow
exhale all the way out.

Now press into your palms,

press into the
tops of the feet.

Think about moving from
the center of your body.

As you slowly inhale, lift up,

look forward, find extension.

Exhale, send it right
back to Extended Child's Pose.

So now this is a little vinyasa,

moving intentionally
with the breath.

Inhale, we rise.

Think about length in the neck.

And exhale, we soften.

And send the hips back.

And you can start to find a

little wave in the
spine if that feels good.

Inhaling, extend.

Exhaling, coming back.

Awesome. The next time 
you inhale, come forward,

you'll walk the
knees underneath the hips,

curl the toes under,
and on an exhale,

send the hips back
for Downward Facing Dog.

Breathe in here.

Plant the palms,
draw your navel up and in.

And think about sending the

majority of your
weight into the low body.

And to do that,
we press away from the yoga mat

with our palms
instead of crashing down in.

And this sensibility and

literally this
strength comes with practice.

So just keep breathing.

Nice, now bend your knees.

We're gonna walk the feet one
little step at a time all the

way up to the
tippy top of the mat.

When you get there,
feet hip width apart

and a Standing Forward Fold.

So relax the weight
of the head over here.

Find your breath.

And really bring your awareness
to the soles of your feet.

Ground down through all
four corners of the feet.

Notice if one toes,
one foot maybe is pointed out.

Can you guide it back in?

See if you can
get them parallel.

Bend your knees,

just feel that lengthening
in the whole hamstring,

in the low back.

And if you wanna do any soft,
easy movement here,

clasping the elbows,
shaking the head yes or no,

please do.

Just notice if you've started

to shorten your breath or
even constrict your breath here.

Keep it flowing.

Nice, now we're gonna
ground through the feet.

And with breath,
whatever that means to you,

slowly begin to roll up.

Knees bent to support the back.

Here we go.

Together we'll rise up tall
into Tadasana, Mountain Pose.

And when you get here,
ground through the feet again,

lengthen through
the crown of the head,

lift the chest and

draw your shoulder blades
together and down.

So you come into 
quite a stance here,

quite a pose.

And in this posture,

we actively draw
the navel in and up.

And for today's variation,
you can open the palms,

just kind of in a
receiving gesture.

Alright, now the
breath fuels the action.

So soft knees, the inhale takes
the fingertips all the way up.

Ideally you wanna stretch
as long as your inhale

so we're really
synchronizing the two things.

And then exhale, same thing.

For the whole duration
of this Forward Fold,

all the way down,
you're breathing out.

And at first your breaths
won't be that long

but we can practice.
That's why we're here.

Inhale, slide the palms to
the tops of the thighs now.

Draw your elbows in like little

grasshopper legs and
this is done on an inhale.

So halfway lift
as you breathe in.

And then you exhale,
soften and let everything go.

Bend the knees to
protect the low back,

send the fingertips forward.

We're just gonna
reverse everything,

come all the way back up.

Inhale, and exhale,
hands come down to your sides.

Let's repeat that.

With the breath,
inhale, reach for the sky.

Exhale, Forward Fold
all the way down.

Inhale, halfway lift,

lengthen through the crown of
the head so the neck is long.

And then exhale,
soften and fold.

Bend the knees,
ground through the feet,

spread the fingertips,
inhale, reach all the way up.

Standing tall.

And then exhale,
hands all the way down,

Mountain, we're gonna add on.

Inhale, reach for the sky.

Exhale, soft knees,
Forward Fold all the way down.

Inhale, halfway lift, 
flat back position.

Elbows soften and fold as
you release the forehead down.

Breathe out.

This time
fingertips come to the mat.

We're gonna inhale,
step the right foot back.

Exhale, lower the right knee.

Press into the 
top of the back foot

and you can pad the knee
here or even double up on your

mat by just folding it over if
you need a little extra padding.

On an inhale, sweep the arms
forward, up and back.

Big breath in as you lift
your heart up towards the sky.

Then exhale,
fold it all the way back down.

Stay here.

You're gonna
straighten your front leg.

Flex your left toes towards
your face for a nice stretch.

Good, then roll
through that left foot.

Come back to
your nice low lunge.

Inhale in.

Exhale, you're gonna step your
back foot up to meet the front.

Now inhale, lift to
that flat back position.

Exhale to soften and fold.

Root to rise here
with your breath.

Inhale, reach for the sky.

And exhale, Mountain Pose.

Good, again,
inhale, reach for the sky.

Exhale, Forward Fold.

Now if you have your block here,

you can start to play
with it for your halfway lift.

Inhale, halfway lift.

Exhale, soften and fold.

Good, inhale, 
step the left foot back.

Exhale, lower your
left knee to the earth.

Good, press into the
top of the left foot.

That's a real
root for this posture.

So press into the top of
the left foot and inhale,

slowly sweep the arms
forward, up and back.

Breathe here, lift your chest.

Press into the
right big toe mound,

just to ground that.

And then slow and steady,

bring it back down
as you breathe out.

Nice, inhale in.

Exhale,
straighten the front leg.

Stretch.

Continue to breathe as you
roll through that right foot.

Good, inhale, 
curl the back toes under.

Lift the back knee.

Exhale, step the feet together
up at the top of your mat.

So now bring the feet together,
really together, arch to arch.

Good, hands on the
thighs or maybe hands on block.

We inhale, halfway lift.

And exhale to soften and fold.

Root to rise here.

Inhale, reach all the way up.

And exhale, hands at
our sides, Mountain Pose.

Excellent, just take a second

here to drop your right ear
over your right shoulder.

Stretch.

And then draw your
chin through center,

left ear over left shoulder.

Stretch.

Breathe.

And then draw the chin to the
center and slowly as if you

were pressing a
little marble with your nose,

draw a line with
your nose forward.

And as your gaze looks up,

inhale, reach the arms all
the way up towards the sky.

Interlace the fingertips here.

You can keep the index fingers
pointed up towards the sky.

Ground through all
four corners of the feet.

As you inhale, you're gonna
bump the hips to the left.

Send your fingertips
to the right.

Exhale, come back to center.

Ground through the heels.

Good, inhale, take it
to the opposite side.

And exhale, come to center.

Release the bind,
inhale, look up.

Exhale, soft knees as you float

it all the way back
down into the fold.

Inhale, halfway lift,
your version.

Just play.

Exhale, soften and fold.

This time we're
gonna plant the palms,

step one foot back and

then the other and you're
coming into a Plank Pose.

You can lower the knees here
and squeeze the ankles

together in a Half Plank
or reach the heels back,

knees lifted, Full Plank.

Draw the low rib cage in.

Feel your abs turn on.

Good, you're gonna inhale.

Here, exhale,
Downward Facing Dog.

Inhale to Plank.

Exhale, Downward Facing Dog.

Breath to movement,
movement to breath,

linking them slow and steady.

Nice, and then the
next time you're in Plank,

take a deep breath in.

And exhale, you're gonna slowly
lower all the way to your belly.

Press into the
tops of the feet again.

Squeeze your elbows
into your sides again.

Walk your hands back underneath

your shoulders or in
line with your rib cage.

Good, inhale, 
press into the pubic bone.

Start to slowly lift the head,
the chest, the shoulders,

Baby Cobra.

And then exhale, release,
forehead kisses the earth.

And again, with the breath,
inhale, rise up.

Maybe go a little higher,
maybe not.

And exhale, release,
press into the tops of the feet.

One more, inhale, rise up.

And exhale to release.

Grab your block,

bring it close to the
front of the mat if you have it.

If not, we don't
need it, it's okay.

We're gonna slowly
curl the toes under,

press up to all fours,

and then make your way
back to Downward Facing Dog.

Step your right foot up on
an inhale, lower the back knee.

Good, sweep the
arms up overhead.

Inhale, Crescent Lunge.

Exhale, this time
we're gonna take

the left hand to the earth

and the right hand
to the sky for a twist.

And this is where your block

can come in handy

for that left hand.

Great, now inhale
in here, open twist.

Exhale, you're
just gonna close it.

Bring your
right fingertips down.

Good, inhale in, open.

Exhale, close.

Back toes can be
curled under or not,

that's an option.

And if you're ready,
you might be able to lift that

back knee and open
all the way up and close,

with your breath.

Let's do one more.

Inhale to open
and exhale to close.

Excellent.

Plant the palms,
step it back to Plank Pose.

Inhale in, exhale,
slowly lower to your belly.

Right into it,
inhale, Cobra lifts you up.

Exhale, soften and release.

Press up to all fours or Plank.

And then send the hips up high,
Downward Facing Dog.

Good, inhale, this time step

the left foot all the
way up into your lunge.

Lower the right knee
to the earth.

When you're ready, inhale,

sweep the arms all
the way up and overhead,

Crescent Lunge.

And exhale to bring
it all the way down.

Right hand to the
earth or the block.

Inhale, let's go right
into the flow this time.

Opening up, might notice a
little difference on this side.

And then exhale, closing it.

Inhale, open it up.

Exhale, close.

And you might find that you're
able to lift that back knee

for a couple

openings and closings.

Move with your breath.

If you're holding your breath,
take a moment, step back.

Check it out.

Nice, the next time you close,

go ahead and come
back to your lunge.

We're gonna plant the palms,
step it back to Plank.

Then lower one knee,
then the other.

Swing the legs to
one side, any side.

Grab your block if you have it,
if not, no worries.

And we're gonna come all the
way onto our backs from here.

Excellent, walk the heels in.

Press the palms into the earth,
toes pointing forward.

Draw the shoulder blades
underneath your heart space.

Inhale in, start to
peel the tailbone up.

Press in all 
four corners of the feet

and come into a low Bridge.

Good.
Take a deep breath in here.

Feel the belly
expand and then exhale,

slow and steady,

lowering the spine down
one vertebra at a time.

And again, with the breath,
inhale, slowly rolling up.

Nice, slow, deep inhalation.

And exhale, 
slow and steady to release.

And one more with your breath,
take it away.

And when you're ready,

we're gonna hug the
right knee into the chest,

send the left leg out long.

Rotate the right ankle
one way and then the other.

Then pick your hips up,
shift 'em to the right.

Take your right knee over

towards the left
side of your mat.

Nice supine twist here,
breathe in.

Maybe your gaze moves past your

right shoulder
as you breathe out.

Nice, then slowly
bring it back to center.

Switch, left knee in, 
right leg out.

Bump the hips to the left.

Sorry buddy.

And find your twist here.

Continuing to breathe deeply.

Then come back to center.

If you have a block,

you can use it
here as a pillow,

believe it or not,
really awesome.

And then your choice, guys,

you could send the legs out
long or you can bring the feet

as wide as the mat and
allow the knees to fall together.

Just kind of pay
attention to what your back,

your low back in
particular is wanting.

And then whether you
are on a block or not,

you can practice this.

You're gonna close your eyes
and you're just gonna slow and

steady release the weight
of your body into the earth.

And as you do that,

you're gonna rock
your head slowly, slowly,

slowly to one
side as you breathe in.

So even here, there's
synchronization of breath.

Sorry, I started to
get a little Zen'd out.

And then slow exhale brings the

head back to center and then
you repeat on the other side.

Inhaling,

slow roll to the left.

And this is nice on the floor
but it's awesome on the block.

Great, come back to center.

Allow everything to relax here.

Maybe relax your arms
down gently at your side.

Way to show up for

this type of holistic practice.

It's incredible

what happens when we

sync the body with the breath.

The science behind that is

incredibly motivating for me.

And so I feel very honored and

happy to share this
type of practice with you.

Thank you for joining me.

Bring the palms together.

Slowly bring the
thumbs up to your forehead.

This third eye point,

the inner teacher,

intuition,

I like to think of
that as the breath,

guiding the way.

Way to show up.

Let's repeat this practice

another day together 
and, of course,

continue to explore 
other flows, vinyasas.

Take a final breath in together.

And out together to close.

Great work everyone.

Namaste.

(upbeat music)