This is a mental health wellness practice. Full stop. So, while we utilize familiar asana, allow yourself to focus on sensation more than what you think the poses should look like. This might be particularly challenging not to the beginner but to an experienced yogi who perhaps has been practicing asana in the Western world for many years. Remember, the focus on this series is on the prana body. The energetic aspects that help make up who we are. Have you ever met someone that just had “good energy” or have you ever been around someone who had “bad energy” maybe? I am not here to call one thing good or bad but simply to point out that we often respond to energy because it can affect how we feel. From the yoga perspective we are all all connected through this life force, and so tending to our own energy through practice does inevitably have a ripple effect.
This mindful practice is 23 minutes long and packed with beneficial moves for the spine, a strong, stable center, healthy digestion, and yummy support for the hamstrings and lower back.
I hope you enjoy your time on the mat. Thank you for showing up!
Love, Adriene
What's up everyone? Welcome to Prana, your 7 Day Yoga Journey. I'm Adriene,
this is sleepy Benji and it's day two. Hop into something
comfy and let's get started. All righty. Let's begin in a comfortable seat. Take your time getting settled in. But as you arrive here today,
you can allow the hands to rest gently on the tops of the knees
or the thighs. Jumping right in will lift the heart. Lift the sternum. Soften your gaze or close down the eyelids here. Let's take a second to tune in to exactly how we are feeling today. know, shift your awareness to your front body. So the front side of your body. And see if you can energetically lift
the front side of your body, specifically the front side
of your torso on the spine. Lift it up. Now shift your awareness
to your back body. And yep, you guessed it. See if you can imagine or feel energetically, the back body grounding down. So we have this upward current of energy
through the front body. And then we have this grounding downward flow through the back body. And for today just imagine that somewhere in between
those two currents of energy, is you. The ups and the downs. Opposite directions. An expansion, but also a stability. Begin to gently deepen your breath. And then we'll bat the eyelashes open. And today
we're going to take the fingertips out. Left to right to this Texas T. Ooh. That was my elbow. For those of you who don't know, I live in Texas. Texas is my home state, Austin Texas. I love the bring the Texas T into it. I think about lifting more
through the body, but specifically through this area in the armpit
chest region. So if we're collapsed here,
could help to think of, like, two suspenders lifting you up. Find that lift through the front body
of that grounding through the back body. On your next
inhale, reach a little bit wider. Exhale, bring the hands to the heart. Inhale. Expand. Moving with your breath. Exhale. Hands to heart. Inhale. Reach. Exhale. Hands to heart. Feeling the warmth of your palms
on your heart center. So I do know it can be hard to sit up tall. The more you practice,
the more opportunity you'll have to build strength in these stabilizing muscles. That will help you find this upright position with more ease. So just take care of your body. Sit up on blankets when you need to. Take breaks when you need to. All right. Do you want to get serious with me? Let's take three more. But really see if you can elongate
your inhalation and your exhalation and let your movement be aligned with that breath. So complete a complete marriage. And after your last one, let it go. Shake the hands open and close the jaw. Let's take a little twist. Left hand to the right knee. Right fingertips behind you for support. Lift up through your chest. Take a deep breath and exhale. A slow journey into the twist. Opening up through the right chest. Feeling that rotation in the mid back. Lovely. Come back to center. Take it to the other
side. Right
hand, left knee left fingertips behind. Inhale to sit up nice and tall. Exhale the journey into your twist. Pay attention to the sensations in your body. Awesome. Come back to center. Left hand comes to the earth
or left fingertips. Right fingertips are going to reach
all the way up high. Find length in the side body here. And then let's tip it over into a nice big stretch. Pull your thumb back. Pinky forward. Think about rotating your chest
or your heart up towards the sky. Keep your right hip heavy. Breathe in, breathe out. Take one more breath. Maybe lean back a hair. And then switch. Come all the way up through center
and take it to the other side. And then
come all the way back up to center. And let's bring it forward onto all fours. Cat, cow, drop the belly on your inhale. Round the spine. On your exhale. An invitation here to tap into an audible breath. If it feels right in your body today. Maybe bringing a gentle Ujjayi breath. Finding that ocean sound as you inhale in. And exhale out. On your next inhale,
walk your hands forward. Shift your shoulders over your wrists. Coming onto the knees. Here we can lift the toes. Optional, crossing ankles optional. Or you can just keep the tops of the feet
on the ground coming into a bit of a half plank. Here. Draw your low abdominals in as if you were cinching them in towards
center. Hug your low ribs in
so that the low ribs are splaying here or like almost like
coming into a cobra already. So hug your low ribs in. We just want to actively engage
the abdominal wall in some way. Thinking about energy here
we're drawing the navel in and up, remembering this line from the crown
all the way to the tip of the tailbone. So if the neck is hanging here, maybe
extend the crown of the head forward, send your gaze out in front of you
and find that length in the spine. Considering the neck an extension of that? Yes, the arms are starting. Maybe to feel a little tremble here. Deep breath in, long breath out. Stay here. Where you're welcome to stay here. Or we can lift one knee by
curling the toes under and then the other breathing deep. Nice, full, deep breaths. Inhale in. Exhale. Lower all the way to the belly. Some of you are like what? You didn't say. There was a static hold on. Day two
drag the hands in line with the ribcage. Squeeze the elbows into the side body
so you have lots of space between your ears and shoulders here. Press into the tops of the feet. Firmly press into the pubic bone gently
and then everyone, best you can think a subtle body. Here we're going to draw the navel
in and up here so you have a little activation. Inhale press into the hands
pressing your foundation. Baby Cobra. Lift the chest. Exhale forehead kisses the mat again. Inhale press near foundation. Lift up Cobra and release. One more. Inhale we rise up. Exhale. Release. Beautiful. Curl the toes under. Press up to all fours or plank. It's your choice. Listen to your body and then we'll send the hips up
high and back. Downward facing dog. Take a couple of breaths here to listen and respond. How's your body feeling today?
How's your energy? How's your mood? Maybe taking your dog for a little walk
by pedaling the feet out? Maybe something has been on your mind,
just been causing a little bit of stress or anxiety
and you can choose to put it. Take it off the mat. Put it to the side for now. You can always pick it up later. And when you're ready on your next
inhale, anchor through your left heel so you feel a deep stretch
in your left calf before you inhale. Imagine you're sliding your right foot
against a wall, so you're really pushing your right foot out,
not just hoisting it up. Three legged dog. Inhale in here. Exhale. Shift your weight forward. Bend your right knee. Hug it into your
chest. Inhale. Kick it out. Exhale. Shift it forward one more time. Inhale. Kick it out. Exhale shift it forward. And then step it
all the way up into a nice low lunge. Lower your back knee. Breathe. On your next
inhale open up through the chest. Send your gaze forward. Maybe the fingertips
reach forward up and back. You can also just stay here working,
letting your heart energy radiate forward, opening up through the collarbones. Everyone pull your right hip “cris”. “Cris”. Right hip crease back. Just a hair press into the ball
joint of your right big toe. Inhale in deeply here. Exhale to release. Stay here. We're gonna go back up. Ready. Here we go. Inhale. Reach all the way up. Exhale. Hands to the heart. Palms on the on the heart center. So strong footing here. Come up out of it. If you feel like you're dumping into your
front foot, find that core connection. We're going to inhale.
Extend the arms wide. Exhale hands to heart. Inhale. Extend the arms wide. Exhale hands to heart. One more time. Marrying the breath to the movement. The movement to the breath. And then release. Let's take a little break
on that front foot. Pull the right hip crease back
straight in through your right leg. Inhale in here in this runner's stretch. And then exhale. Take it forward. Plant the palms. Step it back to downward facing dog. Inhale in deeply here. Exhale completely. Remember this is time for you. So allowing those distractions
to be noticed. Anything that's been bothering you. And then maybe just kindly politely
putting them to the side for now during your yoga practice. So we can get our energy right
so we can be conscious of the ripple
that we're putting out into the world. anchor the right heel down. Feel that generous stretch in your right
calf. Inhale. Slide
the left leg up against an imaginary wall. Press into both palms evenly. Find your center. On your next exhale, shift
your weight forward, knee to chest. Inhale, kick it back with your breath. Exhale, glide it forward. Inhale. Kick it back. Find the core connection. Last time. Shifting forward
and then stepping your left foot up. Lowering your right knee. My view here is just so precious. Benji's
such a little, such a little darling guy. Front knee over front ankle
light on the fingertips. Just find a second. Take a moment here to find your footing. Literally. And then when you're ready, loop
the shoulders back. Open up the chest. You could just work here, or we might send
the fingertips up and back. Crescent lunge. Hug the low ribs in. Breathe. And then slowly release. Pause and we'll take it up one last time. Here we go. Inhale. Reach the arms all the way up. Exhale. Hands to your heart. Feel your own touch
the comfort of your own touch. Here. Squeeze the inner thighs together
for more stability. Find that lift up
through the pelvic floor. When you're ready. Inhale. Open the arms wide. Exhale hands to heart low. Body stable. Inhale open. Moving with your breath. I know it takes a lot of focus to work this way. That you got this
mirroring the action to the breath. The breath to the action. Nice. One more. And then let it go. Let's take a counter stretch here. Straightening that front leg. Nice. And then we'll slowly
come back to the land. Plant the palms,
step it back to your half plank. Either on the knees
here, shifting forward or to full plank. You got this. One more hold, but
we're always moving here with our breath. Hug the low ribs in. Press away. Actively press away from the yoga mat,
bringing more sensation into your core muscles
extend through the crown of the head. Nice long neck. You got this. You're here for five. You got that? You totally have this. Four. 3 to 1 lower all the way to the belly. Awesome work. Three cobras with your breath. Inhale. We rise up. Exhale we soften and release two more. Just like that. Nice. After your third one,
check this fancy move out. You're going to shimmy a little bit over
towards the left side of your mat, like so,
as if you were going to share your mat with a pal, which you are sharing your mat
with the power. It's this power yourself. And then you're just going to kind of
do like a barrel roll all the way,
the gentle barrel roll all the way around. So you're coming to lie flat on your back. And when you get there, extend your legs out long to start. I'm just take a second here
to get centered on the mat. Good. Then keep the left leg where it is.
Just activate it. So imagine
you're standing on that left leg. So flex your left toes. I want to bring the right knee
up into the chest. Squeeze it up and in. Breathe. Here. Stay here. Just breathing. Or if you'd like to peel the head. neck, the shoulders up. We can. Finding a belly breath or two here if you can. If the head is lifted
go ahead and gently lower it. And we're going to switch. Extending the right leg, flexing the right foot. And then when you're ready lifting
the left knee up and squeeze that left knee up in towards
your chest in towards your left armpit chest area. And again just stay here. Let's
listen to your body. What you need today. Maybe you can lift your head,
but when you listen to your body actually like you know, what would actually feel
more balancing for me is to just have my whole spine supported. On your next breath, bring your right knee up to join your left knee
and we'll hug both knees into the chest. Find some intuitive movement here. So rocking a little gently side to side, you might take the palms to the knees
and gently draw circles one way and then the other. And then to close, we're going to shake
the limbs a little bit. So you're just going to start by shaking your feet out. And then bring the hands
and the arms into it. And then allow this to gain a little speed and intensity. Part the lips relax your jaw. And then honestly for five seconds
give me five. Just get a little crazy with it for five,
four, three. I can't help but smile too.
And one release. Let it all go. Shavasana. You can softly gaze
past your nose or close the eyes. Whatever feels more comfortable for you
today. Allow the hands
to rest gently at your sides. Or if it feels nicer, for whatever reason today,
to have your hands somewhere on your body. Play with that. Take a quiet moment for yourself here, relaxing everything and perhaps just reflecting on your experience here on this day to practice. And you can always pause the video at the end and return to this shape
and be here a little longer. If your time allows. But if you're ready, let's wiggle
the fingertips. The toes. Rotate the ankles, the wrists move the tongue around in the mouth. Day two in the books. So day
three is potentially when people are like, oh, I got sidetracked and busy. So my darling friends, I urge you. Stay committed. Day three. We're going to bring a little bit of new vocabulary in and a little new breath technique, and keep building on this fun
ride together. Let's bring the palms together, thumbs to the brow point whenever you're ready. Inhale lots of love in and exhale lots of love out to close this practice. Thank you. Take good care. Namaste.