- Hey everyone, welcome to your 31 Day Yoga Revolution. It's Day 19, and today we have a light practice, which is surprisingly a very strengthening practice, but I'm really excited about this approach, because to me this is really a great example of find what feels good yoga. So hop into something comfy and let's get started. (lively orchestral music) Alrighty, my friends. Let's begin in a nice, comfortable seat. We're gonna bring the hands to the heart, but go ahead and place your palms flat right on your chest. Day 19. As you get settled in here, start to listen to the sound of your breath. And today I'd like to invite you to tap into a little inner smile if you will. Now this will feel different for everyone. Perhaps it's a little bit of a smile literally. Perhaps you just close your eyes and feel your hands on your heart and as you start to listen to the sound of your breath, you just drop in to the present moment in a new way, in a delightful way. Perhaps it's just a decision you make to stick with this journey. You've come so far, Day 19, so proud and so honored to be on this exploration with you. So yeah, whatever it means to you today as we tap into our own inner guiding light. See if you can find that inner smile. Feel your breath. Relax your shoulders. And I'll tell you what, never underestimate the power of the inner smile. I use it a lot in my practice, both on and off the mat. I'll talk more about that later, but whatever it means to you, tap into that inner smile, then let's take a deep breath in together, here we go, big inhale. And as you exhale, release the hands, place them on the knees. Head over heart, heart over pelvis. See if you can hold onto that inner smile. Again, whatever that means to you. It's making me smile thinking about it. It's just a little bit of joy. And, when you're ready, we'll inhale, press the palms into the legs, drop the shoulders, and open the chest. Open your heart to the sky, lift up through the sternum, and then exhale, rounding through, chin to chest. Feel a nice stretch in the back body, in the back of the neck. The shoulders round forward. And now we're gonna move in a circle, so inhale, complete the action of lifting your heart just like you did before, but we're gonna inhale, move in a circle one way, any way, it doesn't matter. Lift your heart. Come up through that lifting point and then exhale, round through, so action of Cat-Cow here, but we're moving in a circle. Then see if you can sync up with your breath, huh? Inhale as you come forward perhaps, lift. And exhale as you round through. Then keep it going with your breath. See if you can keep your bum on the ground, your sits bones on the ground. Ooh yeah, so we start to warm up through the hips. Connecting to the energetic body here as you breathe and move, move and breathe. Then reverse your circle. And really, this time now let's try to move really from our center, so you can imagine your belly button or your navel drawing a big circle. I like the image of those old-fashioned coffee grinders, those are still so cool. All the youngins watching will be like, "What's that?" And so really getting into those muscles, imagining this is a sweet, sweet massage for your internal organs, because it is. And then remembering, ah yes, let's start moving with the breath here. Also get a little butt massage here. So, take it or leave it. Alright, do a couple more, maybe get a little freaky on these last few, checking in with the shoulders, the neck. Yeah! And then come back up to center. It's so simple, a little goes a long way in my opinion. I feel great, okay, just after that little bit. Alright, fingertips come to your sides. Lift up from the armpit chest. In fact, take your thumbs to your armpits really fast and give yourself a lift. We're gonna use this today, this length through the side body that we've been cultivating on our journey, but also lifting through the front, grounding through the back, breathing into all four sides of the torso. Fingertips are gonna come down. Inhale, lift and lengthen. And exhale, any side we're gonna tilt to really reaching and really thinking about opening the chest, think Cobra here. Beautiful, then draw your chin to your chest, sweep through center, rounding through the spine. Think about Cat Pose here. And then keep going on to the other side, and then you'll just continue this motion in your own time, warming up the back body. Continuing to sync up with your breath. And so rather than hitting the pose of side body stretch, try to create a full body experience even here. Stay awake through your feet, heavy in the hips. Lots of awareness in the head and neck here. And we'll just keep going a couple times back and forth. See if you can create a lightness in the upper body. And then we have the steadiness, the heaviness of the lower body here in Sukhasana. Soften your gaze. If you like, close your eyes. We'll just do a couple more here, warming up the body. This is really great if you sit in a chair a lot or if you are in the car a lot. This is fabulous. Alright, even it out. Hold on to that inner smile. And the next time you come through center, tuck the chin into the chest and roll it up. Hands come back to the heart space, palms flat. Just feel where are you today? And then tap into that inner smile, take a deep breath in. And then exhale, let's come forward all the way onto all fours. Knees are gonna come as wide as your yoga mat. Feet together. Then walk the hands out so they're a little bit in front of the shoulders today, and then we're gonna start to twist here, so we'll inhale, send the right fingertips up towards the sky, open the chest. Then exhale, right fingertips in and underneath the bridge of the left arm. Big inhale as you press into your foundation, open. And exhale, coming through. And then the same thing here, as you start to sync up with your breath again, can you find a lightness in the upper body, this mobility, as you breathe into all four sides of the torso while still maintaining a stability or a heaviness in the legs, in the tops of the feet? Think about it as one continuous motion, cultivating a lightness. Beautiful, we'll do one more. Big inhale to reach the right fingertips up and then exhale to switch, gorgeous. Right hand comes down. Big inhale to open the left fingertips up towards the sky. Feel that stretch in the upper body. Big breath in here. And then exhale, rounding through, keep pressing into the tops of the feet. If you're tired today or feeling heavy, no worries, this is the practice for you. Just let it unfold, it's not gonna happen right away, boom, immediate lightness. Just see if you can go on a journey and then I find that usually if you're just present, you'll be surprised with how fast the body goes, "Mm, okay, let's do this." So use your inhale to expand. Then use your exhale to draw the muscles of the belly in and twist. Alright and do one more, big inhale, expand. Press into the tops of the feet. And exhale, hands to the earth. Great, walk the knees in. We'll come to Downward Dog. Take your time. My legs are a bit sore, so perhaps yours are as well. Take your time and right away today, so we practice being still, kind of being present in the hold, today we're going to take our dog for a walk, but not just in the feet, in the hands too. So see if you can find a lightness, and we're just gonna let go of this shape here. You can peek at the video. We're gonna let go of this shape here for a little bit and use that as a starting point to find light movement, more developmental movement today. So for some this'll be a breath of fresh air, for others, a little bit difficult depending on just your personality, and so I just invite everyone to, don't decide where it ends, play with me. I'm gonna get you feelin' happy and light on your feet, providing the tools for you to access this light energy when things are dark, grim. And then you're gonna take the same energy and walk it all the way up to your Forward Fold. So no stiffness, no hopping, no floating, give it a little exploration. Walkin' on a trail. Walkin' on the trail of light. (laughs) Forward Fold. Same thing here, this isn't a contest to hit the peanut butter and jelly, belly to the thighs today, or any day for that matter in this space, but so create a softness, a lightness. You can continue to move the feet if you like. If your hamstrings are a little bit sore from all the awesome work you've done, maybe bend the knees generously. Shake the head a little loose. And we're starting to break free the chains that sometimes we put ourselves in, right, find a little light. Shine a little light in the dark places as I like to say, and continue to deepen your breath. Cultivate nice, conscious breathing. Alrighty roo, here we go, a halfway lift. Light as a feather we inhale, lift the heart. You're gonna use the fingertips, the arms to accentuate this action today, so they open up, so we're not coming to airplane arms or stiff. Find a lightness, just hang with me, and then exhale to soften and bow. One more time, inhale, halfway lift. Exhale, soften and bow. Great, there's more where that came from, but for now, tuck the chin into the chest, ground through your feet, and slowly roll up to Mountain. Actively ground your feet into the earth. And stand up nice and tall. Life is good, tap into that inner smile here. Just do it. See what happens. And then you get to decide what feels good. Palms inward, outward. Hands at the heart. We're gonna take a couple of breaths here. Maybe you tap into an audible breath, Ujjayi. Maybe you imagine again, thumbs at the armpit chest lifting you up, so really finding this lightness of being in all four sides of the torso. Grounded through the feet. Couple nice, active breaths here. (exhaling and inhaling) The power of the breath, man, to shift a mood, a recognition of something that's not great, ugly, dark, something you don't understand. Tap into that breath. It's free and it's always available to you. At least while you're still alive. Alright, big inhale to reach the arms up. No rush, light as a feather as you rain it down, so a cascading perhaps today, to take out all the hard edges today. Inhale, light, play with the arms, lifts you up halfway, so we're still coming to this length here, but playing with a different flavor. And then exhale to soften and release. Inhale, reach for the sky. Root to rise here. Maybe lift the toes, feel your legs, activate. And then exhale, hands to heart, lengthen tailbone down. Big inhale, soft knees as you reach up towards the sky. Exhale, cascading down. Big inhale lifts you up halfway. Maybe imagine you're moving through water today. And then exhale, soften and bow. That's the ticket. Inhale, root to rise, big, reach for the sky, soft and easy. And then exhale, hands to heart. Soft knees here. Inhale, reach for the sky. Take up space. Exhale, rain it down. Inhale, halfway lift. Find something new. And exhale, Forward Fold. Fabulous, this time walk the feet together. And we'll slide the right foot back today. Inhale, open the chest. Back knee can be lowered or lifted, yogi's choice. And then exhale, slowly plant the palms, step the left toes back, but see if you can keep a lightness in the torso, so we're not crashing into our joints here, but lifting up, you have the power, and it's not just muscle strength. It's about awareness. It's about energy. And then see if you can find a softness in your plank here as you lift up between your shoulder blades. So if you're collapsed between your shoulder blades here, lift your heart up, let your heart be light. Oh my God (laughs), amazing. Sorry, okay. One more breath here. Let your heart be light. Love it. Lower all the way to the belly with control. Feel free to lower the knees. Then here we go, slide the hands in line with your ribs, so a little bit further back than your shoulders. Hug the elbows into the side body. Find that grounding through the tops of the feet and the pubic bone. Then tuck the chin into the chest and inhale, open your heart, baby Cobra. Exhale, cascading down. Inhale, hug, squeeze the elbows in. Lift your heart. And exhale, cascading down one more time. Find a lightness. Inhale, press into the tops of the feet. And exhale to release. You can come to all fours here. Or press up to Plank, yogi's choice, how you want to transition. Keep an awareness in your heart. Tap into that inner smile, a lightness as you lift up to Downward Dog. Same thing, take your dog for a wog. (laughs) Walk. I don't know what a wog is. If you do, tell me in the comments below, unless it's dirty, then just leave it alone, ay? Alright, take your dog for a wog. And, be really mindful of your shoulders, of your head, your neck. Again, the body as one whole, moving part. So we have a creativity day, so this is a good prompt for that day, so if you're feeling shy here, just use this time to play. Alright, one more breath here. And then walk it all the way up. Inhale to lift up halfway. And exhale to soften and bow. Great, this time, step the left foot back. Back knee can stay lowered or lifted. Just stretching out the legs. Find a little lightness. Open your chest forward. Then big inhale. And then exhale, plant the palms, step the right toes back, lift your heart space up towards the sky. Find a softness. This is a fabulous way to build strength, kind of gets you out of your mind. ♫ And into my car Great, and then with the breath, big inhale. Fill it up. Exhale, all the way to the belly with control. Slide the hands in line with the rib cage, press into your foundation. And let's slow it down, inhale, lift the heart. Exhale, cascading down. This is a small movement, so there's a tendency, we're just wired to kind of come here or here, or wherever it is, but let's just see if we can really get into... Let's just see if we can get into really these places where we don't actually ever work or activate, because we kind of bypass them to hit the pose, so inhale, keep it nice and low. And then exhale, release. I can go more in-depth into that, but not at this time, so inhale, open the chest. We'll talk about it in the email. And then exhale. But basically, we're working the same parts of the body over and over and we're never actually creating a holistic experience, because we're just hittin' those poses. Alright, come to all fours or Plank. And back to Down Dog. Alright, same thing here, moving the hands, moving the feet. You can bring the hand to the heart. One and two. One and two. And then make your way to the top. Go for a little stroll. Find articulation through the feet. We're waking up the backs of the legs. We'll come all the way to Forward Fold. Feet hip width apart or together, yogi's choice. Just nice, conscious footing here. And then you'll grab the elbows, obviously the elbow, and just sway side-to-side here, creating a semicircle, and then see if you can keep your feet planted as you do that. So we're really finding nice stretch, but also stability in lower body, our practice thus far, and lots of opening in the muscles of the back body, the side body, neck and shoulders. Beautiful, release the arms. Inhale, halfway lift. Find your angel wings here. Open the chest and then exhale to fold. Root to rise, inhale, reach for the sky, spread your fingertips, reach, reach, reach, reach, reach. And exhale, hands to heart. Namaste. Deep breath in. Long breath out. Awesome work, let's keep going. Tap into that inner smile. Big inhale as you spread your fingertips and reach for the sky. Exhale, rain it down. Big inhale, halfway lift. Find something new. And exhale, float to down. Wonderful, plant the palms, step both feet back, Plank Pose. And then we're gonna bring the right hand to the center line, and open up to the left, Side Arm Plank. You can use your top foot, bend that top knee. Place the top foot on the ground and lift your hips, open up. And then exhale, come back to center. Find your foundation and inhale, open up to the right. And then you're gonna go back and forth in your own time. Moving with a lightness, building strength. Think about, again, the body moving as one moving part. Back and forth. Again, you can take different variations here using that top leg. Maybe bringing the feet side-to-side. Have some fun here, lift your heart. We'll do one more on each side, you got this. Building strength, toning muscle. For me, in a way that feels good, that's playful, that's connected. We'll come back to center. Belly all the way to the earth. So you can go belly to Cobra or Chaturanga to Up Dog depending on how you are feeling today. Open your chest, lift up from the armpit chest. And then use the exhale to make your way back to Downward Facing Dog. Catch your breath here, breathe. Then we'll walk the feet together, and inhale, lift the right leg up high. Exhale, step it all the way up into your lunge. Nice low lunge here. Take a second to find your foundation. And then back knee lowered or lifted, we're gonna let the fingertips lift and hover, find a softness, so even if you're working quite hard, can you marry that effort with ease? Find the grace as you build strength. Squeezing energy inward, opening the chest, lifting the crown of the head. Then let's continue the journey. Inhale, reach the fingertips all the way up. Biceps by the ears, you can always come onto the back knee here, no prob. If the back knee is lifted, soften it a little bit so you can get your center underneath you. Then hang with me, one more breath here. Big inhale, light in the upper body. Then exhale, rain it down, hands frame the front foot. And then check it out, we're gonna find a bend in that back leg. You have your bend in the front knee already, and then we're gonna lift up, half splits, light. Light and easy. So careful not to lock the standing leg, soften it. Breathe, if the body starts to shake or tremble, ohhhhh, to be alive today, so awesome. So here we find a lightness in half splits. You're gonna lift up through that right hip crease. And then there's an option to play here, opening and closing. Just finding a little opening, building strength in the muscles of the legs, the glutes, your core. Inhale, we rise. And exhale, fall. Great, inhale, we rise. Exhale, fall, stay here working on half splits, or you'll begin to open up through the hip, keep the left toes turned in, and we'll play with a little half moon. So, opening up, you don't have to come to the full expression, but just playing with a lightness here in your heart. If you fall, no worries. Find soft knees, work on all those beautiful things we've tapped into on our journey thus far, drawing the navel in and upward. Using the inhale to expand, the exhale to contract and ground, and you just play here maybe for a moment or two. And then we'll meet back in our lunge. So from the half splits, we look forward, trust, step the left toes back. Great, we'll gather, inhale, open the chest. And exhale, plant the palms, take it straight to Down Dog or you can fit in a little vinyasa here. Soft and easy in your Down Dog. Breathing. Awesome work, let's do the other side. So right heel draws down in your Down Dog, when you're ready, inhale, lift the left leg up high. Exhale, step it all the way up and through. Back knee lowered or lifted here. Couple of breaths. Find your footing. Connect. Then when you're ready, let the fingertips lift and hover. And that's not the task that we just check off, that's just the invitation to oh, I lift my fingertips and so I connect to my core. I relax my shoulders. Going through the checklist, staying aware, building that beautiful, beautiful body awareness that for me translates into light, same thing, for me. Then with back knee lowered or lifted, you'll inhale, reach the fingertips to the sky, way to stick with it. Biceps by the ears, open your chest. If the back knee is lifted, make sure you get your center underneath you, couple breaths, you got it. Then inhale in and exhale, cascade, rain it down, stay in control. Fingertips frame the left foot. We bend both knees. And with a lightness, inhale, find a little buoyancy here. We lift that back leg up, standing split. So I'm trying to create an L shape. So I'm not really opening up just yet, but turning the toes down, building strength and stability in the hip, in the glute. Not locking through the leg. And then, you can just work here, maybe finding a softness. Maybe your light is in the neck today. Right? Or, maybe you play with inhaling halfway and lifting. And then exhaling. Inhaling to lift. Have a little fun, don't forget the neck is an extension of the spine here so moving as one. Inhale to lift. Just play. If you fall, smile, it's all good, stay connected, move slow. And then from here, we can still work in half splits. Working, being patient and kind, thoughtful, or maybe we begin to open up. This time opening the hip, keeping the right toes turned in, finding soft bend in that standing leg and then maybe you play in your half moon. We'll come to this more later. Hug the lower ribs in. Inhale, find a lightness, and then we'll all meet back in our lunge. So moving through your half split, and then look forward as you step back, trust. Nice low lunge. Alright, let's gather together here, loop the shoulders, inhale, look forward. And exhale, plant the palms, step it back. You can move through a last vinyasa here. Or straight to Down Dog, awesome work everyone. From your Down Dog, slowly lower to the knees. Bring them together or wide, whatever your body's craving. For me I suggest knees together, but perhaps your body is saying something else, and we'll meet in Child's Pose. Just take a couple moments in your sweet Child's Pose to relax and observe your breath. Feel it move you as you breathe in. Feel it move you as you breathe out. And slowly reach the arms up towards the front edge of your mat if they are not already and we'll come to all fours. Swing your legs to one side. And come to a seat. Soles of the feet come together for Cobbler's Pose. We're not gonna be here long, but if you'd like to lift your hips up on something, feel free. We'll grab the ankles or the feet, open the soles of the feet like a book here, and then in your mind, connect what's happening as you do this with the feet, what's happening with the hip socket, the hip joint, right, so one part, one moving part. And then sit up nice and tall. Tuck the chin into the chest slightly. And once again, lift up from the armpit chest. Use your breath to really expand all four sides of the torso, whatever that means to you, and then tap into that inner smile here. So for me this type of practice, and really the mission of the Yoga Revolution is so important. I mean, not only are we gonna get trim and all that jazz, lot's gonna happen, hopefully you've already noticed some wonderful physical effects, but we keep coming back to this goal of when we close our eyes, as we just asked ourselves to do here in Cobbler's Pose, or when we open our eyes and look in the mirror, what do you see? What experience do you have? Is it dismal and dark? Or is it light and lovely, patient, funny, kind, whatever it is that feels like you? So lean back a little and I'm gonna lift the feet up. You're gonna send the soles of the feet towards the front of the mat, and then you're gonna take the arms in and out. Fun little pose here to find lightness in the heart. So, you can take a Mudra here, index finger and thumb, or just keep the palms open, fingers soft. And then we'll bring the heels together, and then maybe the ball joint of the big toe together and spread the fingers, spread the toes, and lift your heart here. If there's other variations that you want to play with here, you can, but this is just not a pose that you can do with a grumpy energy, or with a collapse in the heart. You have to find a lift, a lightness. And if you're a bit sad, you have tailbone issues or lower back issues and you can't practice this, you can do this with the feet on the ground and just take the arms out wide here. I say that as someone who's had tailbone injury. In fact, just shows you the magic of yoga. I never in a million years thought I'd be able to sit like this, never in a million years. And look at us now! So wherever you are, take a deep breath in. And long breath out. And then keep your shoulders grounded and keep your heart lifted as you slowly unravel, kick the arms out, the feet out, Boat Pose. I'm gonna go Wu-Tang here just 'cause it makes me smile. You can take a Mudra, inhale. And then exhale, release everything. Awesome work. Let's come to lie flat on the back. Prepare for Reclined Twist. So find your lower back nice and flush with the mat to begin with by hugging the knees up towards your heart. And then send your arms out, Texas T, palms face down just to ground you here at first. And then soft and easy, light and lovely, rock to one side. Inhale, come through center. And rock to the other. And so, in light, oh my goodness, in light of today's practice, theme, we will take a couple moments here at the end to just really play. It's kind of like a happy baby on their blanket. It's kind of like a cockaroacha, cockroach on the earth. (laughs) Maybe a scarab. I wanna be a scarab. And so you're just rocking back and forth, and you want to move slow just to be mindful of any aches or pains or anything. You don't want to tweak anything and you can play with extending the legs. And this is a fabulous thing to do in your bed. And if you're on a hard wood, you can even play with keeping your toes on the ground and drawing big circles. This is a wonderful release for the glutes, the top of the hips, piriformis, especially if you're running or more active as you start this revolution. Stay connected to your abdominals. So good. Do a couple more. You can get creative. Back and forth. Don't be shy. And then come back to center. And we'll bring the feet as wide as the yoga mat. And allow the knees to come in so that they can really, really relax there. And then the belly and the bowl of the pelvis softens, and we're gonna bring our hands back to our heart space. And then close your eyes. Inhale in through the nose. And exhale out through the mouth here. Notice how you feel. And we'll take a little moment of gratitude at the end of Day 19 here. For the practice. And for ourselves, for you, for yourself, for taking the time to tend to your own inner guiding light. And thank you for sharing your practice with me. I do feel that the asana practice in particular is a wonderful tool for helping us move with more ease, more lightness. And you can think about that as you move off the mat. How do you want to move through your life? Angry, stomping? Or like a smooth operator? It's a no-brainer for me. Have an awesome rest of your day. I'll see you tomorrow, Day 20. Oh my gosh. Big love and light. Namaste. (lively orchestral music)