WEBVTT

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- What's up everyone?

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Welcome to Yoga with Adriene.
I'm Adriene.

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And today on the
Foundations of Yoga Series,

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we have Dolphin Pose, or
Ardha Pincha Mayurasana.

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This is an inversion.

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Yay. You requested it.

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But it's an inversion in
which we can work in stages

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to grow it mindfully

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and a way that feels
really good and supportive.

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If you have had shoulder injury,

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you want to be really mindful
of practicing this posture

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or maybe just 
skip it altogether.

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Alright, so hop 
into something comfy

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and let's learn Dolphin Pose.

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(upbeat music)

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Alright my friends, let's
begin today on all fours.

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Take your time 
getting down here.

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And then when you arrive,
let's just take a second

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to really be mindful.

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Since this is the 
Foundations of Yoga,

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we're taking the time
to really pay attention

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to our alignment 
into the foundation.

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So you'll take your wrists
right underneath the shoulders.

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And you'll take your knees
right underneath the hip-points.

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And whether this is new for you

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or you're an experienced yogi,

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you've been on 
the path for a while,

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just kind of come into
this as a beginner's mind.

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I find that really
helpful when we're wanting

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to go deeper or learn new poses,

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focusing on everything 
from the ground up.

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Right? From the foundation.

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So take a second to really root

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through your 
index finger and thumbs.

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Spread the fingertips wide,
again,

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wrists underneath the shoulders

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and knees right 
underneath the hip-points.

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So I say hip-points instead
of hips to really, kind of,

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get you to bring 
it right underneath

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where the hip socket is,

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where those bones come together.

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And then for some, 
you're going to start to go,

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"Wow my arms are already tired"

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(laughs)

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because you're starting
to work in a way that's

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really connected to the
earth, hand to earth.

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We call that 
Hasta Bandha, hand lock.

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So you press away 
from your yoga mat.

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You kind of claw into 
your fingertips here

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and then you draw the
tops of the shoulders

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away from the ears.

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You can actually imagine
turning the right palm

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to the right as if 
you're opening a jar

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and the left palm 
to the left your left

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as if you're opening a jar.

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(laughs)

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So lots of action. 
Lots of awareness.

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Then begin to notice if
you're neck is dropping down,

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obviously you're 
going to be looking

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at the video a little bit,

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but hopefully not a lot
because I'm amazing.

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I'm going to guide 
you with my voice.

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No. 
(laughs)

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That's the idea, is to
really give you some time

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to just listen to the 
sound of my voice,

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check in when you need to, 
but give you some time

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to explore this in your body.

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So start to check 
in with the neck

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and just have this 
awareness of the spine

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from the crown to the tail.

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So if you're really lengthening

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from the crown to the tail here,

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the chin wouldn't be collapsed,

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or protruding, but rather
tucking slightly gaze down.

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Then, this is important 
here for Dolphin,

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draw the shoulders 
away from the ears,

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imagine again 
opening those pickle jars

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and just find a little awareness

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through the upper back body.

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So if you're collapsing
the shoulders here,

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this is a good moment
to peek at the video,

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if you're collapsed here,
you're going to want

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to lift up between this space.

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Excuse me, lift up between
the two shoulder blades,

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creating space here, broadening.

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And then, again, 
those pickle jars,

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drawing the shoulders 
away from the ears,

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really firming the shoulder
blades down the back body.

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That's a hard cue to
take, so just play here.

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Basically bringing some
super awesome awareness

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into the upper back body.

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Cool. Then we travel 
down the spine.

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Just notice if you're
collapsed in the lower back,

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see if you can find length
in the lower back, the spine,

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by lengthening the tail towards
the back edge of your mat.

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Navel draws up.

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So now I have all this
awareness in the hands.

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If arms get tired, you
can come to the fists

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for a little bit.

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Takes practice.

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We've all this awareness
from the crown to the tail.

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We're not collapsing
in the upper back body.

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We're not collapsing
in the lower back body.

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In fact, we call this connecting
to that center channel,

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that plumb-line.

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I often refer to it as the
danda, the line of the spine,

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the stick, or the staff.

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You might also hear to
it, hear to it? (laughs)

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Hear it referred to as

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the mid-line, 
the center plumb-line.

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So we're just finding a
little bit of containment

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in the front body length
through the spine.

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Awareness in the back body.

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Cool, then go ahead and
curl the toes and walk back

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and just take a little break.

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Maybe rotate the 
wrists a little bit.

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Maybe give yourself a
little forearm massage.

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I don't know where, 
but I read once

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that massaging the forearm is

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like a good foreplay massage,

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like a weird 
aphrodisiac stimulus.

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(laughs) Bonus.

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Bonus reason to share
this Dolphin video. No.

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I don't even know 
if that's true,

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so don't believe everything
you hear on the internet.

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So if I'm ever getting this part

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of my arm massaged by anyone,

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I'm always trying 
to not be weird,

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but just notice, "How
does this make me feel?"

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Usually it's me 
rubbing my own arm

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(laughs) in yoga.

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Okay, let's come back to
the pose, back to the focus,

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preparing for Dolphin.

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So I'm going to come back
to my table top position.

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You join me whenever 
you're ready.

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And once again, going
through your checklist:

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knees underneath hip-points,

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wrists underneath the shoulders,

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draw the shoulders 
away from the ears,

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awareness in the back body.

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A bit of containment, 
drawing energy

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up through the front body.

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Navel up, heart lifting up
between the shoulder blades.

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Lengthen the spine and then
try to maintain that length,

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that awareness at least.

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Tops of the feet 
pressing into the earth.

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So often they're 
going to come in,

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we're just not 
spreading the awareness

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all the way to the toes.

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So keep that awareness,
spreading through the toes.

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And I'm just gonna 
drop one elbow

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right exactly where 
that hand was,

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so it's right 
underneath the shoulder

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and the other right
underneath the shoulder.

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Right away I'd like 
you to pay attention

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to what happened to the wrists.

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See if you can keep the forearms

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that I just so eloquently

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referred to (laughs) in
that massage moment...

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See if you can them parallel
like two railroad tracks.

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And then for now, just
see if you can go through

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that same checklist here:
length through the crown,

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length through the tail.

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So you probably will draw
the navel up a little bit.

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And then just notice if you're
collapsing in the shoulders,

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find that broadness
through the upper back.

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Okay, it's really important
as you're learning a posture

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to focus on the sensation
rather than the shape.

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I can't tell you how
many times I personally,

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especially when I was
younger, would just kind of

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bypass that exploration time.

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And then I was never actually
able to embody a shape

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fully, joyfully, 
safely in my body.

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So yeah, just focus 
on sensation here

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as you grow your posture, as
you learn or relearn your body.

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Cool, one more breath here.

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You should feel 
this in the shoulders,

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tops of the shoulders,
drawing away from the ears,

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pressing away from the yoga mat.

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Again, root that 
index finger and thumb.

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And then we'll take a
break, Puppy Posture.

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Great opening for the shoulders.

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You're just going to
walk your knees back.

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I'm actually going to walk
up just to stay on my mat.

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But walk your knees 
back and try to keep

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on those railroad 
tracks best you can

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and try to keep the index
finger and thumb rooted.

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Now, if you have 
super tight shoulders,

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which a lot of people do,

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you might not be able to bring
the forehead to the mat here,

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in which case you 
can use a blocky

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to bring the 
forehead to the block

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or you can use a little
pillow or rolled up towel.

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And then this 
is a really nice way

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to prep Dolphin, Puppy Posture.

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To open tight shoulders,
open through the chest,

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and to really work on the
integrity of your foundation.

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So a lot of times as you
start to come into this shape,

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the fingers will come in,
the wrists want to come in

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because that's how I feel
better in this shape.

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But if we're wanting to
get into the right areas

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of the body, we're going to
work slowly and mindfully.

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Keeping the hands where 
they are. Two parallel lines.

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So this could be,

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if you're feeling it here

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and you'll know your shoulders
will be speaking to you,

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telling you sweet nothings,

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whispering sweet nothings.

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You might just stay here

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and not actually even
work in Dolphin today.

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Just breathing deep and then
working on your foundation

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slowly from here, 
drawing navel up,

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lengthening through the crown,

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sending your gaze 
towards your knees.

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This might be your Dolphin.

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So we have this Puppy Posture,
also called Anahatasana,

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Heart to Earth pose.

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Or you can begin to
work your Dolphin there

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just nice and slow.

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So, again, you're
releasing, heart to earth,

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or you're starting to
work your Dolphin here

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because you'll feel too
tight in the shoulders

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to go any further.

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If you're ready to go
a little bit further,

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maybe you're returning to
this video or you're like,

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"I wanna give it a try",

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we're going to slowly
lift the heart forward

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between the elbows.

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If you need to take a
break too for a second,

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you just curl the toes, 
come back,

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lift your heart 
over your pelvis.

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But if you're ready to
go into this inversion,

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deeper inversion,

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we will move 
from Puppy Posture

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all the way back 
to where the heart

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is between the elbows here.

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And I'm just using 
literally my eyeballs

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to check out my foundation here,

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rooting down 
through that index finger,

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drawing the shoulders 
away from the ears,

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and, again, shoulder
blades down the back body.

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Then curl the toes under
if they are not already,

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take a deep breath in,

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and a long breath out.

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Keep an awareness on your
breath as you inhale in again

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and this time, on a exhale
lifting one knee then the other.

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Take a second to pedal it
out just a little bit here

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and keep a nice strong
foundation in the arms.

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Now, nice and slow, I'm
going to come to stillness

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but I highly recommend you
keep your knees bent here,

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especially if you're 
new to the practice.

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And eventually we'll come all
the way to this shape guys.

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But even my hamstrings are
a little tight here today,

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so nice and soft, 
bending the knees,

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we'll come into a place of
stillness and allow the breath

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to fill this body here, 
this shape.

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Gaze is towards 
the toes or the knees.

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Eventually we can take
the gaze straight down,

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especially if we're working
up to pincha mayurasana.

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Right?

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Kicking up.

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Breathing deep, 
take one more breath here,

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and then slowly lower the knees

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and come all the way to seated.

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Flip the palms, inhale.

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Lift the heart.

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Exhale, relax the shoulders.

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Inhale deeply.

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And exhale completely.

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So for me, in the 
Foundations of Yoga,

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it's really important 
that I'm not

00:11:41.802 --> 00:11:43.113
just showing you the posture

00:11:43.113 --> 00:11:45.038
because you can see that
anywhere on the internet.

00:11:45.038 --> 00:11:47.340
This is an opportunity 
for us to workshop,

00:11:47.340 --> 00:11:51.901
to explore these shapes and
the sensations of these shapes

00:11:51.901 --> 00:11:55.048
in our body at home, 
safely and mindfully.

00:11:55.048 --> 00:11:56.716
So you need to
be really mindful,

00:11:56.716 --> 00:11:59.686
definitely if you have something
going on in the shoulders,

00:11:59.686 --> 00:12:01.047
but everyone, really mindful

00:12:01.047 --> 00:12:04.023
as a way of exploring
your practice and growing.

00:12:04.023 --> 00:12:05.758
So we're going 
to take locust arms here,

00:12:05.758 --> 00:12:07.794
interlace the fingertips behind,

00:12:07.794 --> 00:12:09.696
knuckles drawn down and away,

00:12:09.696 --> 00:12:11.281
Just a little counter pose.

00:12:11.281 --> 00:12:15.862
And then we'll check out
Dolphin one more time.

00:12:15.862 --> 00:12:17.470
Deep breath in.

00:12:18.304 --> 00:12:19.639
Deep breath out.

00:12:20.873 --> 00:12:22.475
One more big inhale

00:12:23.543 --> 00:12:25.378
and exhale to release.

00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:30.450
Alright from all fours,
we'll dive back in.

00:12:31.551 --> 00:12:34.721
Dropping the elbows 
where the hands are.

00:12:34.721 --> 00:12:37.257
And right away finding your
foundation, not collapsing,

00:12:37.257 --> 00:12:40.360
but pressing away 
from your yoga mat.

00:12:40.360 --> 00:12:42.228
Root down through 
the index fingers.

00:12:42.228 --> 00:12:46.366
So in this second round 
we'd offer a couple variations.

00:12:48.301 --> 00:12:51.004
But for now, wrists in
line with the elbows,

00:12:51.004 --> 00:12:53.366
elbows right 
underneath the shoulders,

00:12:53.366 --> 00:12:55.388
and when you're 
ready we'll walk it back.

00:12:55.388 --> 00:12:58.481
Puppy Posture first,
you might just stay here

00:12:58.481 --> 00:13:01.481
working on Dolphin by
drawing the navel up,

00:13:01.481 --> 00:13:04.183
finding that containment
through the mid-line.

00:13:04.183 --> 00:13:08.187
Or if you're ready, 
we'll curl the toes under,

00:13:08.187 --> 00:13:09.392
inhale in

00:13:10.561 --> 00:13:13.807
and exhale, 
lifting hips up high.

00:13:15.595 --> 00:13:18.965
Now this time, whether the
knees are bent or straight,

00:13:18.965 --> 00:13:21.347
ankles, heels reaching
down towards the earth.

00:13:21.347 --> 00:13:22.619
Heels do not have to touch.

00:13:22.619 --> 00:13:24.370
Mine are not touching today.
I'm not warmed up.

00:13:24.370 --> 00:13:26.005
Eventually, if I'm in 
the middle of class,

00:13:26.005 --> 00:13:28.174
I can get to a Dolphin where
my heels are on the ground

00:13:28.174 --> 00:13:30.543
but I'm not going 
to rush that today.

00:13:30.543 --> 00:13:33.846
Again, focusing 
sensation over shape.

00:13:33.846 --> 00:13:36.015
Couple of action points
to grow your practice:

00:13:36.015 --> 00:13:38.785
draw energy up from the
ankles, the inner ankles,

00:13:38.785 --> 00:13:40.133
the arches of the feet,

00:13:40.133 --> 00:13:42.378
all the way up through the
inner thighs into the groin,

00:13:42.378 --> 00:13:44.657
lifting hips up 
high towards the sky.

00:13:44.657 --> 00:13:47.026
Almost as if you're
lifting your butt cheeks

00:13:47.026 --> 00:13:49.395
up towards the ceiling.

00:13:49.395 --> 00:13:51.230
Keep breathing.

00:13:51.230 --> 00:13:55.134
Tops of the shoulders externally
rotate away from the ears.

00:13:55.134 --> 00:13:56.803
Breathing deep here.

00:13:57.817 --> 00:14:00.440
Navel draws in and up, 
uddiyana bandha,

00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:02.742
that'll hug the lower
ribs in just a little bit

00:14:02.742 --> 00:14:05.478
and allow you to 
create that broadness

00:14:05.478 --> 00:14:07.447
in the upper back body.

00:14:07.447 --> 00:14:12.118
Couple of variations here:
can bring the palms together,

00:14:12.118 --> 00:14:13.386
fists together,

00:14:14.487 --> 00:14:17.517
or we can work to 
bring our gaze forward

00:14:17.517 --> 00:14:19.992
by carving a line with the nose,

00:14:19.992 --> 00:14:22.295
keeping that broadness 
as you press away.

00:14:22.295 --> 00:14:24.363
Eventually, we'll kick up

00:14:26.486 --> 00:14:30.633
into picha mayurasna, 
an inversion.

00:14:30.633 --> 00:14:33.139
But this is your inversion
too, strong and steady.

00:14:33.139 --> 00:14:36.976
We'll take two more
breaths here, breath deep.

00:14:42.715 --> 00:14:45.551
Slowly release knees 
to the ground,

00:14:45.551 --> 00:14:47.620
rolling up nice and slow:

00:14:50.523 --> 00:14:52.251
one, to be safe and mindulful,

00:14:52.251 --> 00:14:54.083
but two, to find 
what feels good.

00:14:54.083 --> 00:14:57.524
Feel the effects of this pose
as you lift head over heart,

00:14:57.524 --> 00:14:59.198
heart over pelvis.

00:14:59.198 --> 00:15:01.348
Flip the palms up and 
close your eyes

00:15:01.348 --> 00:15:02.732
and observe

00:15:05.538 --> 00:15:07.874
observe your breath.

00:15:07.874 --> 00:15:09.408
Observe that sensation.

00:15:09.408 --> 00:15:12.578
For me, it's like a fresh
wash of blood in the arms,

00:15:12.578 --> 00:15:16.482
and the head, 
the neck, the shoulders.

00:15:16.482 --> 00:15:19.685
And one more time, 
reaching the fingertips around,

00:15:19.685 --> 00:15:24.426
shalabhasana arms is a great
counter pose to Dolphin.

00:15:27.059 --> 00:15:29.428
Interlacing the
fingertips behind,

00:15:29.428 --> 00:15:32.331
drawing the knuckles 
down and away.

00:15:35.535 --> 00:15:38.137
So if you spend a lot of
time with your arms in front,

00:15:38.137 --> 00:15:40.673
this little routine 
of just Cat/Cow,

00:15:40.673 --> 00:15:42.708
maybe add a little Cat/Cow,

00:15:42.708 --> 00:15:47.680
Dolphin, and then Locust
Arms, that'll change your day.

00:15:47.680 --> 00:15:50.349
That'll change your life.

00:15:50.349 --> 00:15:53.619
Great, take one more 
deep breath in here

00:15:53.619 --> 00:15:55.054
and then release.

00:15:56.522 --> 00:15:58.121
Awesome work.

00:15:58.121 --> 00:16:00.760
Alrighty, my friends, if you
like this video I encourage you

00:16:00.760 --> 00:16:03.729
to go check out the
Foundations of Yoga playlist.

00:16:03.729 --> 00:16:05.765
This is an on-going 
library of poses

00:16:05.765 --> 00:16:07.733
where we really 
just take the time

00:16:07.733 --> 00:16:09.045
that you don't normally have,

00:16:09.045 --> 00:16:12.859
in the Yoga Flow video
or a vinyasa public class

00:16:12.859 --> 00:16:14.213
and really take the time to find

00:16:14.213 --> 00:16:15.441
what feels good in your body.

00:16:15.441 --> 00:16:17.777
That's correct action 
and alignment,

00:16:17.777 --> 00:16:19.312
but also the sensation right?

00:16:19.312 --> 00:16:21.047
Every body is different, 
so if you want

00:16:21.047 --> 00:16:23.433
to have a lifelong
practice that feels good

00:16:23.433 --> 00:16:25.785
and is totally safe 
and injury-free,

00:16:25.785 --> 00:16:28.688
and just helps you move with
ease in your regular life

00:16:28.688 --> 00:16:31.090
so you can carry your
groceries when you're 90

00:16:31.090 --> 00:16:34.160
and carry your neighbor's
groceries too, be a good person,

00:16:34.160 --> 00:16:36.629
then I highly recommend
you dive into that playlist

00:16:36.629 --> 00:16:37.763
and see what it's all about.

00:16:37.763 --> 00:16:40.459
Alright, let me know
how it goes down below.

00:16:40.459 --> 00:16:41.901
Questions, 
comments always welcome.

00:16:41.901 --> 00:16:43.469
Subscribe to the channel
if you haven't already.

00:16:43.469 --> 00:16:45.738
Share this with your friends,
your enemies, your neighbors,

00:16:45.738 --> 00:16:46.973
and take good care.

00:16:46.973 --> 00:16:49.709
I'll see you next time. 
Namaste.

00:16:49.709 --> 00:16:52.879
(upbeat music)