WEBVTT 00:00:00.334 --> 00:00:04.409 Alright and 2013 is the year of the snake. 00:00:04.409 --> 00:00:08.364 So as a little bonus track, we are going to learn 00:00:08.364 --> 00:00:11.111 Cobra Pose or Bhujangasana. 00:00:11.111 --> 00:00:14.804 Alright, so hop on the mat and let's learn Cobra. Here we go. 00:00:14.804 --> 00:00:17.951 (gentle guitar music) 00:00:25.729 --> 00:00:31.019 Okay, so for Cobra, I'm going to come onto my front, my belly. 00:00:32.794 --> 00:00:34.187 Like so. 00:00:35.352 --> 00:00:38.066 Of course, often we will lower down, 00:00:38.066 --> 00:00:41.506 Chaturanga, or you know, all sorts of yummy transitions 00:00:41.508 --> 00:00:43.943 into this posture, but we're gonna stick with the basics. 00:00:43.944 --> 00:00:46.463 Just learn a little bonus Bhujangasana today. 00:00:46.463 --> 00:00:48.574 So, I'm gonna come onto my belly. 00:00:48.574 --> 00:00:51.084 Foundations of yoga. 00:00:51.084 --> 00:00:54.044 Even my uterus alignment that I learn in Mountain Pose, NOTE Paragraph 00:00:54.044 --> 00:00:57.711 I can use here on my belly. So, tucking my pelvis in, 00:00:57.711 --> 00:01:01.117 drawing my navel towards my spine. 00:01:01.117 --> 00:01:02.063 For this beginning posture, 00:01:02.063 --> 00:01:05.413 keep my heels hip width apart. I'm going to press the tops of my 00:01:05.413 --> 00:01:07.788 feet firmly into the earth. 00:01:07.788 --> 00:01:09.948 You know, and God is in the details 00:01:09.948 --> 00:01:12.420 or the devil's in the details. Choose your side. 00:01:12.420 --> 00:01:15.035 But I'm gonna press not just the tops of my feet into mat, 00:01:15.035 --> 00:01:17.045 but all the way extend through my pinky toes. 00:01:17.045 --> 00:01:20.884 So, I have this bright, bright beautiful awareness of my feet. 00:01:20.884 --> 00:01:22.479 Pressing into my pelvic bone, 00:01:22.479 --> 00:01:24.123 drawing my navel towards my spine. 00:01:24.123 --> 00:01:26.920 What else do I do in my universal alignment, in Tadasana? 00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:29.056 I roll my shoulders forward, up and back, 00:01:29.056 --> 00:01:30.724 I hug my elbows in, 00:01:30.724 --> 00:01:34.061 squeeze my shoulder blades in together and down. 00:01:34.061 --> 00:01:35.295 Then I'm gonna inhale in, 00:01:35.295 --> 00:01:37.831 extend through the crown of the head, exhale with my palms 00:01:37.831 --> 00:01:39.566 underneath my shoulders. 00:01:39.566 --> 00:01:43.270 I'm going to slowly kiss my forehead to the mat. 00:01:43.270 --> 00:01:45.238 So, now I'm prepped for my posture. 00:01:45.238 --> 00:01:49.042 On an inhale, I'm gonna press into all 10 fingerprints. 00:01:49.042 --> 00:01:51.144 And then press into my foundation, 00:01:51.144 --> 00:01:52.746 that which is touching the earth. 00:01:52.746 --> 00:01:54.448 Squeeze my shoulder blades together 00:01:54.448 --> 00:01:56.783 and nice and slow here, especially for beginners, 00:01:56.783 --> 00:01:58.278 nice and slow. 00:01:58.868 --> 00:02:00.672 For everyone really, it's nice to take a 00:02:00.672 --> 00:02:02.856 nice slow breath in. 00:02:02.856 --> 00:02:06.234 Baby Cobra as I lift up. Heart is extending forward. 00:02:06.234 --> 00:02:08.328 I am not crunching in my shoulders. 00:02:08.328 --> 00:02:10.049 I'm not pinching in my neck 00:02:10.049 --> 00:02:12.527 and there's not need to overdue this posture. 00:02:12.527 --> 00:02:16.036 Okay, so, as just a little beginners tool, 00:02:16.036 --> 00:02:20.093 I'm wanting to see if I can extend 00:02:20.093 --> 00:02:22.042 that awareness through my entire spine. 00:02:22.042 --> 00:02:25.712 So, I'm wanting to get a nice, long line 00:02:25.712 --> 00:02:26.646 from the crown of the head 00:02:26.646 --> 00:02:27.948 all the way to the tip of the tailbone. 00:02:27.948 --> 00:02:29.616 So, if I'm crunching here, 00:02:29.616 --> 00:02:31.685 that's kind of cutting this area off. 00:02:32.586 --> 00:02:34.321 Eh, it hurts. 00:02:34.321 --> 00:02:36.590 So, here we go again. 00:02:36.590 --> 00:02:39.059 Let's come forehead to the mat. 00:02:39.059 --> 00:02:40.627 Press into my foundation. 00:02:40.627 --> 00:02:42.929 Hug my elbows in. Spreading awareness 00:02:42.929 --> 00:02:44.931 through the palms and the tops of the feet. 00:02:44.931 --> 00:02:46.833 Pressing my pubic bone into the ground. 00:02:46.833 --> 00:02:50.270 From my foundation, even here, I begin to lift up. 00:02:50.270 --> 00:02:52.305 So, I'm not really putting a lot of weight 00:02:52.305 --> 00:02:56.243 in my hands or my feet, but using them to press 00:02:56.243 --> 00:02:58.712 up and out of, but not collapse into. 00:02:58.712 --> 00:03:01.615 A lot of times people muscle into this posture. 00:03:01.615 --> 00:03:04.284 (whining in Spanish) 00:03:04.284 --> 00:03:07.055 And we end up with this thing. 00:03:07.055 --> 00:03:08.989 And we're like eh, in the arms. 00:03:08.989 --> 00:03:12.793 So, even if you don't make it up as high at first, 00:03:12.793 --> 00:03:14.261 we're building the strength in the back 00:03:14.261 --> 00:03:16.930 so that eventually we can grow tall here 00:03:16.930 --> 00:03:20.600 and be effortless and beautiful and have lots of space 00:03:20.600 --> 00:03:23.837 in the spine, lots of space between the ears and shoulders. 00:03:23.837 --> 00:03:25.072 But this takes time, man. 00:03:25.072 --> 00:03:28.157 This takes so much time and lots of full breaths. 00:03:28.157 --> 00:03:30.805 So, take your time. 00:03:30.805 --> 00:03:32.546 Inhale, baby Cobra. Here we go. 00:03:32.546 --> 00:03:35.248 Pressing into the foundation, one last time here. 00:03:36.817 --> 00:03:38.952 I look forward, squeezing my shoulder blades together, 00:03:38.952 --> 00:03:40.554 pressing into my foundation. 00:03:40.554 --> 00:03:42.379 You can even turn your palms up to just check in 00:03:42.379 --> 00:03:43.713 with the reality, like, are you using 00:03:43.713 --> 00:03:45.625 your arms to muscle into this posture? 00:03:45.625 --> 00:03:48.495 Or are we slowly, mindfully building 00:03:48.495 --> 00:03:49.936 strength in the back? 00:03:54.234 --> 00:03:56.236 On an exhale I'll float it down 00:03:56.236 --> 00:03:58.572 and then I like to move in a little flow here 00:03:58.572 --> 00:03:59.506 to warm up my back. 00:04:00.340 --> 00:04:03.076 Maybe I grow to a mama Cobra. 00:04:04.144 --> 00:04:06.046 And then maybe, eventually in time, 00:04:06.046 --> 00:04:08.415 I squeeze my elbows to the side 00:04:08.415 --> 00:04:10.083 and move into my big daddy Cobra. 00:04:12.886 --> 00:04:14.020 But all in time. 00:04:14.020 --> 00:04:15.055 So... 00:04:17.891 --> 00:04:20.527 Check in, see where you're at today. 00:04:20.527 --> 00:04:24.164 Happy New Year 2013, the year of the snake. 00:04:24.164 --> 00:04:25.866 In kids yoga we get in this posture 00:04:25.866 --> 00:04:28.602 and we come up and go (hiss). 00:04:28.602 --> 00:04:30.303 It's kind of fun so, 00:04:30.303 --> 00:04:31.771 if you want to tap in to your inner child, 00:04:31.771 --> 00:04:34.494 you can try that (hissing) hissing sound. 00:04:34.494 --> 00:04:38.945 (gentle guitar music)