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Hi, I'm Jennifer Crease,
and welcome to the Method Precision Yoga.
The word yoga means to direct and concentrate
one's attention on, to use and apply.
It is the true union of will with spirituality,
the disciplining of the intellect, the mind,
the emotions and the body.
Yoga is an immortal art, science and philosophy.
It has stood the test of time from the beginning of civilization
and will remain a superlative means to achieving total well-being.
At the physical level, yoga gives relief from countless ailments,
among them back pain, digestive disorders and insomnia.
The practice of the posture strengthens the body
and helps to increase suppleness and flexibility.
Yoga sharpens the intellect and aids in concentration.
The practice of the breathing technique steadies the emotions
and calms the mind.
Yoga brings awareness and through meditation
inner peace is experienced and balance is restored.
Yoga is a practical philosophy
involving every aspect of a person's being.
There are many different forms of yoga.
All of them are ancient in their origin
and require a lifetime of dedication and practice.
In this program, I have selected yoga postures and techniques
that address the need for mental strength and stamina
and provide you with ways to combat stress
and develop the tools to cope with the demands of your daily lives.
I have taken the best from several forms of yoga
and have put them together in a way that is accessible to everyone,
irrespective of age, health or circumstance.
The postures that I have selected will help you to relieve physical ailments
and assist you in creating a healthy balance between mind and body,
ultimately leading you to a place where you learn to heal yourself.
This program draws on ancient sources
but does not require a lifetime of dedication and practice.
It simply requires that you begin.
Start with the breath.
It is the breath that leads the body and calms the mind.
It is the breath that quiets the mind and heals the body.
We're going to begin by sitting in a comfortable cross-legged position.
Bring one heel into the center of the body followed by the next
and now take your fingertips in front of you.
Sit up as tall as you can and feel the top of your head lifting up to the ceiling.
Now take your hands so they rest comfortably on top of your knees
and we're going to start by breathing.
Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth.
Again, inhale and exhale.
Try to extend the breaths as much as possible.
Inhale and exhale.
Now try to breathe in through the nose and out through the nose.
Inhale and exhale.
Now what I'd like you to do is place your right hand on your belly
and try to direct the breath so that when you inhale,
you'll send it right to your stomach.
You can feel it with your hand.
Inhale, the belly expands and exhale, the stomach contracts.
Try it again.
Inhale and exhale.
Now think about this.
You send the breath to the stomach, then to the chest,
out of the belly and out of the chest.
It will imitate your body's natural rhythmic breathing.
Let's try it.
Inhale and exhale.
Again, inhale and exhale.
Let's do two more rounds.
You can close your eyes if you like.
Inhale and exhale.
Now, let's do the same thing we did last time.
Inhale and exhale.
All right, now that you've mastered that breath,
I'd like to add the arms.
Reach the fingertips all the way up to the ceiling.
Try to bring your palms to touch and then exhale
through the nose or the mouth
and just allow the chin to drop gently onto your chest.
Let's do that again.
Inhale and exhale, pressing down.
Remember to feel the spine lengthening as you do this.
Inhale up and exhale, press.
Really use the muscles of the arm to expand the upper body.
Let's do this two more times.
Inhale, lift, and exhale, press.
Inhale up and exhale down.
Okay, now that you've started to develop some breathing awareness,
I'm going to start to add some movement.
Bring your feet together in front of you
so that they're aligned with your hips.
Make sure that your feet are in line with your shins, knees, and hips.
Hold on to the tops of your knees.
Breathe in.
Lift the head weight, extend the chin.
Hands slip underneath the knees.
Exhale, contract.
And again, inhale, lifting up.
And exhale, contract, scooping the abdominal.
So we're also becoming aware of the stomach muscles at the same time.
Inhale, lifting up.
Exhale, contract.
Last time, inhale, lift up.
Bring your heels towards your buttocks.
Grab onto one wrist and try to work your chest onto your thighs.
So you're going to be getting some help this way with the arms.
Feel the spine lengthening.
Feel the chest lifting.
And just reach up through the top of the head.
Let's take two of those deep breaths to the belly, to the chest,
out of the belly, and then out of the chest.
Inhale, and exhale.
Good.
Again, inhale.
Feel even taller, and exhale.
Very nice.
Now take the feet back to that position.
Roll down onto your mat.
Take your hands down by your sides, and just bring your heels a bit closer in.
We're now going to do pelvic lifts.
Lift the hips up as high as you can without hyperextending the back.
Breathe in.
Start with the upper chest.
Roll down one vertebrae at a time with the breath.
And feel the spine just releasing into the mat.
Again, lift up.
Inhale.
Feel the hamstrings starting to work, the buttocks, and the stomach.
Exhale, rolling down.
Just allow your body's natural weight to work with gravity so that you massage your back into the mat.
Let's do that two more times.
Inhale, lift.
And we're going to hold this time for two breaths, breathing in and breathing out.
Again, inhale.
And exhale.
And roll down through the spine and release the pelvis into the mat.
One last time.
Inhale, lifting up.
Take a deep breath.
And exhale.
Stay there.
Again, inhale, lift.
Exhale.
And one more breath in.
Exhale, roll down through the spine.
Release the pelvis.
Hold on to the backs of the thighs or just use the fingertips and roll up to a sitting position.
All right.
Come to the front edge of your mat now.
And we're going to work into a balanced position.
This is also a wonderful spinal massage.
And what you want to do is just rock back freely and come up the same way.
So you're going to rock back, come up, and balance or place your feet on the mat.
Again, take it back and coming up.
Being careful not to roll too high onto the cervical vertebrae of the neck.
Take it back.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Coming up.
Try to balance if you can.
Use the stomach.
And again, take it back and come up.
A few more times.
Take it back and lift.
Back and up.
One more time.
Back.
Coming up.
Try to hold the position.
Check your shoulders.
Make sure they're relaxing.
Place the feet.
And now we're going to go into the cat-cow combination.
Bring your body back into the middle of your mat.
Take your hands so that they're directly underneath your shoulders.
And take a look at your knees and make sure that they're also well aligned.
Using the breath that we learned in the beginning, I want you to lift up.
Inhale.
Roll the shoulders back.
Exhale.
Contract starting with the tailbone.
And allow the headway to drop.
Initiate with the tailbone.
Inhale.
Lifting up.
And exhale.
Contract.
Again.
Inhale.
Lift.
And exhale.
Contract.
Two more times.
Inhale.
Lift.
Exhale.
Contract.
Sit back onto your heels.
This position is called Child's Pose.
And you'll be seeing it several times during the tape.
Head down.
Bring the fingertips in front.
Just relax the lower back.
And let's take two breaths here.
Inhale.
And exhale.
Active fingertips in front.
Again.
Inhale.
And exhale.
Last time.
Inhale.
Exhale.
And come right back to the cat-cow combination.
Bring the knees together and we're moving on to active cat.
So you're going to reach the right leg up.
Inhale.
And exhale.
Contract.
Trying to bring the forehead to the knees.
Scooping the stomach.
Again.
Inhale.
Lift.
Exhale.
Contract.
Two more.
Inhale up.
Exhale.
Scoop.
Last time.
Inhale up.
Exhale.
Scoop.
Lower the right knee.
And of course, we're moving on to the left.
Inhale.
Lift up.
Exhale.
Contract.
Inhale.
Feel like someone's pulling your toe away from the center of the body.
Exhale.
Contract.
Two more.
Inhale.
Lift.
Exhale.
Scoop.
Last time.
Inhale up.
Really reach the leg.
And then exhale.
Contract.
Pull back to the heels.
And we'll do the child's pose just for two breaths.
Reach the fingertips.
Inhale.
And exhale.
One more time.
Inhale.
And exhale.
Come back to the cat position.
Curl your toes underneath.
And we're going to introduce an exercise called the downward facing dog or the inverted V.
Pressing onto the arms.
Bending the knees.
Trying to press the chest onto the thighs.
Very gently, you're going to try to stretch the legs so that the heels press into the floor.
Stay here and breathe in.
Very active thighs.
Pull the kneecaps up and exhale.
Roll the shoulders underneath you.
Spread your fingertips out.
Again.
Inhale.
Lift.
Exhale.
Now softening the knees, you're going to walk your feet up to meet your hands.
Gently bend the knees.
Cross your elbows.
Drop the head weight.
Trying to keep the chest on the thighs as you stretch the legs gently.
You're going to uncurl through the spine using the abdominals.
Let the arms release.
One vertebrae at a time.
And you're coming up to standing.
Alright.
Come up to the front of your mat.
Spread your toes out.
Your heels are slightly separated.
And I'd like you to review posture for a minute.
If you're standing at home in front of a mirror, if you're lucky enough,
you want to take a look at yourself and make sure that from the pubic bone to the breast bone,
you're lifting the stomach and the tailbone is down.
Try to maintain that position throughout the Sun Salute Series.
I think we're ready to begin.
Bring your palms together.
Take a breath in.
Inhale up.
Palms together again.
Exhale, diving forward.
You can use bent knees at first if you like.
Palms go down to the floor or fingertips.
Inhale, look up.
Straightening the knees.
Exhale, lower down.
Soften the knees if you'd like.
Arms reach out like a big airplane.
Diving up.
Inhale.
Let's do it again.
Exhale, forward.
Inhale, look up.
Try to straighten the knees.
Exhale, lower.
Inhale, coming up.
Nice and tall.
And one more time.
Exhale, diving forward.
Inhale, looking up.
Nice, long, straight knees.
Exhale, contract.
Inhale, lifting up.
Arms come down by the sides of the body and palms come together.
Remember that throughout the series,
the most important thing for you to focus on is using the breath.
We're now going to go to classic Sun Salutations,
incorporating what we just did.
Inhale, lift up.
Exhale, lower down.
Inhale, look up.
This time bend the knees.
Lift the left foot back and gently lower the knee.
You can use a block or a pillow if you like,
if you have trouble with this position.
If not, you can lower down to your palms.
Roll the shoulders back.
Make sure your knee is in line with your foot.
And breathe two breaths.
Inhale and exhale.
Again, inhale and exhale.
From here, you're going to step back to the down dog.
Using your hands, step back.
Press your heels into the mat.
Deep breath in and exhale.
Lower down onto your knees.
This time your chest and your chin pull through.
Tuck your elbows in.
And we go to Cobra.
So your legs are strong and straight behind you.
Take a breath in and exhale.
From here, curl your toes.
Come back to the cat.
And now to the down dog.
A breath here.
Inhale and exhale.
Step your left foot forward and drop the right knee.
So we're going to the opposite side.
Breathe in and exhale.
Starting to open up the hips, feeling a bit warmer, hopefully.
Now step forward using that right foot.
Drop the head weight.
Inhale, look up.
Exhale down.
Inhale all the way up.
Exhale down.
Palms together.
That was the first sun salutation.
We're going to add an element, which is a straight leg
and a press down in place of the down dog.
So you inhale, lift up.
Exhale forward.
Inhale, look up.
Exhale, bend the knees.
This time try to straighten that back leg.
If you'd like, you can still use the bent knee variation.
Feel free to do that.
Either way, I'd like you to breathe.
Inhale and exhale, sending breath especially to those tight spots.
From here, step back so that your feet are together in a plank position,
lowering down into the press down.
From here, toes into the mat and press up to something called up dog.
You can still do the cobra as we just learned.
Inhale and exhale.
Curl the toes into the mat.
Press the body back up to down dog and breathe.
Inhale and exhale.
One more.
Inhale and exhale.
From here, bend the left knee.
Bring it between the hands.
And remember, try to keep this right leg straight at this point,
breathing in and breathing out.
Nice, strong, straight right leg.
One more time.
Inhale and exhale.
From here, bend that right knee.
Step it up.
Drop the head weight.
Inhale, look up.
One more time, lower.
Arms come out to the sides of the body.
Lift up.
And let's repeat what we just did.
Diving forward.
Inhale, look up, strong, straight legs.
Exhale, down.
Bend the knees, step the left foot back, breathing in and breathing out.
Use the stomach to get into this plank position.
Stepping back.
Hold the position strong and straight.
Using the arms, pressing down into the pushdown, hold.
Point the toes and pull through to the up dog.
Breathing in, inhale.
And exhale.
One more time.
Hold the buttocks tight.
Inhale and exhale.
Curl the toes underneath you.
Remember, I'm going to show you this variation.
You can always bend your knees to press into the down dog if the other is too difficult.
Pressing into down dog, breathing in and breathing out.
One more time.
Inhale and exhale.
Bend the left knee.
Step it between the hands.
Try to keep the right leg straight.
Breathing in, breathing out.
Bend that right knee.
Step it forward.
Drop the head weight down.
Inhaling all the way up and exhale down.
Palms to touch.
How are we doing?
Quite demanding at first, but it will always get easier with repetition.
Okay.
We're going to add something called the Warrior Series.
So we're going to build on the Sun Salutations and just add a few tricks.
Here we go.
Inhale, lifting up.
Exhale down.
Inhale, looking up.
Strong, straight legs.
Exhale down.
Bend the knee.
Take the left foot back.
Join it into plank.
Lower forward.
Come up into up dog.
Hold, breathe.
Curl the toes back into the down dog.
From here, step the right foot forward.
Turn the back heel out slightly and bring your hands onto your knees.
And you can either stay here in this position or if you feel stronger,
you can reach your arms up, interlacing your fingers,
pointing your two index fingers up, and breathe.
Inhale.
And exhale.
Remember here to keep the left leg or the back leg strong and straight.
One more breath.
Exhale, lower the hands down onto the floor.
Step back into plank.
Lower forward.
Into the up dog.
Strong elbows.
Curl the toes into down.
And here for three breaths.
Inhale.
And exhale.
Again, inhale, breathe, really pulling up the kneecaps.
And exhale one more time.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Bend the left knee.
And of course, we're going to go to the other side.
So turn the right heel out.
Bring the hands on top of the knees.
Bring the hands on top of the knees.
And then release that right hip forward.
And now interlace the fingers.
Point your fingers up, arms by the ears.
Two breaths.
Feel the opposition of the arms reaching up and the solid foundation
of your legs beneath you.
Take your arms down.
Bring your toes back onto a parallel stance.
Bend the knee.
Step forward, drop the head weight.
Inhale, coming up.
Exhale down.
And palms to touch.
Moving on to Warrior II.
So we're going to add Warrior I and then Warrior II.
Inhale, lift.
Exhale, dive forward.
Inhale, lift.
Exhale down, bend the knees.
Step the left foot back.
Come to plank.
Lower down.
You should be coming in expert by now and coming up into the up dog,
breathing in.
And exhale.
Curl the toes.
Press into the down dog.
Let's stay here for a breath.
And exhale.
Remember, always splitting the difference between the upper body and the lower.
Step the right foot forward.
Turn the left foot out onto the knees all the way up.
And hold.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Now straighten that front leg.
Open the arms.
And you're going to actually twist your hips so that they face another wall.
Reach your fingertips either side.
Bend that right knee.
And make sure to be very cautious about the alignment of the knee over the toe.
From here, feel like someone's pulling you back with that left arm.
And if you can, sink a little bit lower into that right hip.
Two breaths.
Inhale.
Again, inhale.
And exhale.
Very proud stance.
Lift your chin and your chest.
One more breath.
Inhale.
And exhale.
From here, windmill your arms down.
Come back to a parallel stance.
Plank position.
We're going to lower down now.
Squeeze the buttocks.
Coming up into up dog.
Breathing in.
Back into down dog.
Stay here for three breaths.
Inhale.
And exhale.
Trying to work your chest towards your thighs.
Again.
And X.
Bend your knees.
Step your left foot forward.
Turn your right heel out.
Up onto the knees with the hands.
Come up to warrior one.
Right hip in.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Straighten the left leg.
Open the arms and the hips so that they turn side.
Make sure you're still on your mat.
Arms reaching.
Sink the weight into the left leg.
But lift up simultaneously.
Use opposition.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Again.
Last breath.
Inhale.
Windmill the arms down.
Come back to a parallel stance with the right leg.
Step it up.
Drop your head weight.
Inhale.
Look up.
Exhale down.
Inhale.
Reach the arms up to the side.
Palms together.
Hands down.
Palms come together right in front of the chest.
And lower down.
Repeat as a few repetitions and you'll find that your strength and vitality are building.
In this section on flexibility and balance, we're going to start by standing in mountain pose.
In the first section, which dealt with strength and vitality, we focused on the sun salutations, among the most ancient of the yoga postures.
We'll now move on to some postures that will help you to increase suppleness and flexibility and in addition, help you to balance mind and body.
Start with the toes spread wide.
Heel slightly apart.
Mountain pose so that you're pressing the floor away.
Bring your arms up into the classic sun salutation.
The palms are together.
Invert the left hand.
Grab onto the left wrist.
Planting both feet firmly into the floor.
You're going to take a side bend and remember, work with the breath.
Inhale.
And exhale.
If you can, try to look up underneath that left arm so that you open the chest as you side bend.
Two more breaths.
Inhale.
And exhale.
Feel like you're supporting the ceiling with both hands.
One more breath.
Inhale.
On this exhalation, pull the body back to center and simply switch to the right side.
Invert the right wrist and side bend over to the left.
Inhale.
And exhale.
Again, inhale.
And exhale.
Try to look under that right armpit.
Keep in mind though, it's not necessary at first.
You can simply keep the head straight between both arms.
Inhale.
And exhale.
Inhale.
Coming up.
Reach the fingertips together.
Open the arm side.
Just allow them to float down by the sides of the body.
And we're going to move on to the triangle series.
Stepping your left foot back, at least two or three feet, make sure that the right ankle splits directly through the middle of the left foot.
In this position, square the hips to a side wall.
Reach your arms open.
Something very much like Warrior II, which we learned in Strength and Vitality.
And now shift the hips so that the left hip is sticking out.
Reach the right arm down.
And grab onto the ankle or a block if you have one.
And then twist the body so that you're looking up at the left hand.
Make sure also that the legs are strong and straight.
The feet are pressing into the floor.
But you continue to reach up in opposition through that left arm.
Three breaths.
Last breath. Inhale. Exhale.
From here, bend that front knee.
Take your right hand.
Place it just inside the left foot.
And here again, feel more than able to use a block.
Pressing into the floor.
Open the chest.
Stretch that left leg back.
Bring it up to the ceiling.
Breathing in. And exhale.
You should feel most of the weight in that right heel, not in your hand.
In fact, you should try to be able to take the arm up off the floor just to test your balance.
From here, reach the left arm up overhead.
And look underneath the left armpit.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
From here, take hands on either side of the right foot.
Bring that left foot in just a little bit.
Bring it up to the hips.
Bend the front knee, fingertips in front.
And very gently try to straighten that right leg as you reach the arms in front.
Squaring the hips and straightening both knees.
Three breaths. Inhale.
And exhale.
If at first you can't get very far, don't despair.
Just go as far as you're able to.
And remember to listen to your body and to your breathing.
Breathing in.
From this position, bend the front knee, which is the right.
Take your left hand either on the inside of the right foot,
or if you're feeling a little adventurous, take the hand on the outside of that right foot.
Spiral the upper torso up to the ceiling, straightening that front leg,
trying to get the palm down.
And reach the right arm up to the ceiling as you twist your chest open.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Another breath.
Feel the security of that left leg stretching into the floor all the while.
From here, reach the right arm behind.
Reach the left arm in front.
And using the muscles of the back, lift the body up with the stomach.
Open the arms back to the position and step together back to mountain.
We're going to go to the other side.
So position your left foot so that it's squarely in the center.
Step back with the right foot this time, and make sure you're satisfied with your alignment.
Turn the hips to face the other wall.
Reach your fingertips out.
Shift the hips.
Breathe in.
And lower that left arm down as you twist up.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Two more breaths.
In.
And out.
Last time.
In.
And out.
Bend that front knee.
Take your left hand in front so that it's on the inside of your left knee.
And we'll go down to something called right angle.
Twisting up to the ceiling.
Breathing in.
Two breaths. And out.
From here, flip the right palm, reaching over the head.
Try to look underneath your right armpit, stretching the right arm and stretching that right leg.
Remember, there's no weight on that right hand.
It's all in the lower body.
From here, take the hands on either side of the left foot.
Step the right foot in a little bit closer and bend that left knee.
Take the hands in front.
Try to lay the chest down on the thigh.
And very slowly and gently, working with the breath, try to fully extend that left knee.
Do your very best to keep the right leg straight and you're scooping up in the abdominals.
From here, just to ease into the next position, soften the left knee.
Take the right hand either on the inside of the left foot or on the outside if you're feeling that you can do a more advanced pose.
Twist the body up to the ceiling.
Make sure the hips are even and legs are strong and straight.
And reach the left arm up.
Breathing in and breathing out.
From here, use the muscles of the stomach and the back.
Remember, you're working every muscle in your body when you do yoga.
You lift up to the ceiling, open the arms side back to the triangle, and step forward to mountain pose.
One breath in, one breath out, drop the chin.
Alright, taking your feet now slightly wider than hip width, we're going to do standing forward bend.
I encourage you to use bent knees at first.
And as you repeat the exercise, more you'll gain flexibility.
Breathing up with the arms, squeezing the stomach in, you're going to reach forward, dropping the head in line with the spine, and just let the upper body hang down.
Relax the head.
If you can, grab onto your big toes, make sure that you're working on the full frame of the foot, and try to lower the body down onto the thighs.
Remember to work with bent knees if you feel any stress or strain in your back.
Pulling the head down between the knees, and very gently try to straighten the legs so that you're reaching the tailbone up to the ceiling.
Breathing in, and breathing out.
No tension in the neck.
For a more advanced variation, take your hands underneath your feet, and bend the elbows in the same manner.
This time trying to bring the head even closer to the shins.
Now keep in mind this is something that you can aspire to, and probably not something that you'll be able to do the first time you see this tape.
It's a wonderful release for the back, for the shoulders, and of course for the backs of the legs.
Gently release, let the upper body hang down, and using the deepest abdominals you have, scooping up, stacking one vertebrae on top of the next, until you come to an upright position.
Alright, let's step again to a wide position, something similar to the triangle, but this time I'd like you to actually turn your toes in slightly.
Take your hands behind you in a position that looks very much like Warrior One, but we'll do it behind the back.
Take the hands behind, pointing down with the index fingers, lift the stomach.
We're going to expand the chest.
Inhale.
From here, reaching with the fingertips as you go down, try to keep the heel of the hand together.
If you can't, interlace all the fingers and let the arms just come forward, working with gravity.
And make sure here that your legs are strong and straight, and that you feel an ease in the upper body.
Don't force this, but work with the breath.
From here, feel like someone's pulling your arms away from your center.
Lift up this time with a strong, straight spine, and release.
This time, take your hands on your hips, stick your tailbone out, almost as though you're helping yourself to pitch forward, and reach with a strong, straight spine.
This time, reach your fingertips in front of you, very active fingertips, fingertips that mimic the movement of a cat that's landed from a jump.
Drop your head weight. If you can here, it's more advanced.
Drop your elbows, and ultimately, you'll get the crown of the head onto the floor, breathing in and breathing out.
Wonderful for any digestive disorders you may have, and wonderful for toning the stomach and the legs, not to mention the upper body.
Breathing in and exhale.
From here, walk the body over to the left leg.
If you have trouble getting here, simply put the arms wherever you feel comfortable.
And if you're able to, bring the upper body towards the left leg, remembering to maintain strength in the right leg as well.
Breathing in and breathing out.
One more breath on the side. Inhale and exhale.
Walk the upper body now over to the right side, twisting under.
Try to work the chest onto the thigh of the right leg.
And one more time. Inhale and exhale.
Come back to the center. Reach the fingertips.
And very slowly walk the feet in together so that the legs are just slightly wider than hip width.
And again, uncurl through the spine, stacking one vertebra on top of the next.
And we'll have a seat.
Okay. Moving on to a few other twists that are also wonderful for the center.
Wonderful for any digestive disorders. Wonderful for clearing the mind.
Take your left leg down into the center of the body.
And if you can, cross the right ankle over the left knee.
Feel that you have both hips planted firmly into the floor.
Grab onto that right knee with the left arm.
Reach the right arm up to the ear.
And then take the fingertips behind you.
Inhale, exhale.
Twist the body back so that you're looking over your right shoulder.
Use the floor as a base so that you can press yourself away from the floor.
Three breaths.
Last breath. Inhale, exhale.
Little counter twist.
And we're going to go to the other side.
Take that left foot in front.
If you can't get the left foot across, simply place it where you feel comfortable.
And eventually you will be able to cross it fully.
Take the right arm and wrap the left leg towards the body, working the chest onto the thigh.
Left arm up and twist the left arm back, working the left shoulder back as your body twists left.
Make sure that you're not lifting this left hip up, but you keep it firmly planted into the floor.
Grow taller in the stance.
Come to a counter twist.
Come center.
And now slide back just a bit.
Flexing the feet, we're going to do a classic position called the seated forward bend.
Inhale like you're drawing the toes back to you.
If you can, straighten the legs to such a degree that the heels come off the mat.
If you have trouble with that, just ease the legs in wherever you can.
Breathing in. Exhale, reaching forward wherever you feel comfortable.
If you can, interlace the fingers and hold on in front of the feet.
Breathing in here with a long straight spine.
And exhale, try to drop your head weight and drop the chest onto the thighs.
Stay here for three breaths.
Inhale and exhale.
Dropping the tension out of the shoulders.
Using strong, straight legs.
Hands release and just uncurl through the spine in that position.
Moving on to another wonderful twist.
We're going to bring the right leg so that the foot is in line with the left knee.
Right hand, right ankle. Left hand, right knee.
And again, try to work the chest onto the thigh as you use a strong, straight left leg.
Inhaling up.
Exhale, elbows are lifted.
Again, inhale.
And exhale through the nose.
Cross that right foot over the left knee.
Another twist this time, so you're going to wrap the left around the right.
Very similar to the cross-legged twist.
Opening up to the right.
Breathe in.
And exhale.
And now that you're a bit warmer, try to twist just a bit further.
Still using sensitivity.
And counter stretch.
Left side.
Bend the left knee.
The foot is in line with the right knee.
Coming into the position.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
And cross to the left.
Wrapping left with the right.
Inhaling up.
And twist.
Use the floor as your guide and as your support.
You're working against gravity.
By lifting up in every part of your body.
Breathing.
One more breath.
Inhale.
Come back to center.
Use a mild counter twist.
And now let's come to a position where our legs are open as wide as possible.
And here too, remember that the more you repeat these exercises,
the more flexible you'll become.
So maintain patience and have hope.
Aspire towards higher goals.
Open your legs wide.
Take your fingertips in front.
Or if you find that this position is difficult for you,
bring your legs in a bit closer and you can maintain your hands behind you.
If you do have your hands in front, flex both feet as strongly as you can.
Very strong, straight legs.
And one line from the crown of the head to the tailbone.
Fingertips very active so that we're toning our arms as we stretch through our legs.
Breathing in.
On the exhalation, you stretch and walk forward.
Maintaining the rotation in the hips and external rotation to protect the movement.
Breathing in.
And exhale.
Walking the fingertips further forward and opening the hips even more.
Breathing in and exhale.
At this point, wherever you are, bend your elbows, drop your head weight,
and just relax the upper torso into the mat for two breaths.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Last time, breathing in, breathing out.
Use the stomach to uncurl through the spine.
Help yourself by bringing the legs together and come back to face front.
All right, onto the knees now.
I'd like to do some poses that open up the chest and the thoracic spine,
the upper and middle back.
Bringing the hips forward so that the legs are a bit wider than hip width.
Take the palm of your hand on the lower back, squeezing the gluteus together,
arching the back and looking up to the ceiling.
Breathing in and exhale.
Now, you can either stay in this position or if you feel more secure
and you want more of a challenge, take your hands back so that they're holding on to your heels.
Make sure that you're pressing forward through the hips.
You can either stay in this position or if you want to go a bit further,
arch the spine the way we just did and let the head fall behind the shoulders.
Breathing in and exhale.
If your breathing becomes short or choppy, it's a sign that you've gone too far.
So remember to listen to your breathing.
From this position, ease back onto your heels.
Bring your heels together and we're going to go into a rest pose or child's pose,
which we learned in the strength and vitality section.
Reaching your fingertips forward for three breaths, drop the head.
Bring the arms behind so that the palms are facing up to the ceiling
and release the head weight into the mat for another breath.
Hands come behind you, holding onto one elbow or the other.
Lift the chin and the chest.
Coming up, bring the knees together and now we're going to go to stand.
Uncurling through the spine, come to the front edge of your mat
and now we're going to work on the balance segment.
Bring your feet into mountain pose, hands down by your sides.
Grab onto your right foot and bring it high up onto your left leg,
securing the left leg and now bringing the stomach into the spine,
palms come together, lift the chest, shoulders down,
focus on a point in front of you and concentrate.
You can either stay in this position or if you want more of a challenge,
use the fingertips to guide your focus up.
This is a wonderful position for establishing equilibrium
and of course for helping you to concentrate
and focus all of your attention on one point.
Great.
Reach your arms out by the sides of the body, turn the leg in,
bend the knees and of course we have to go to the left side.
So make sure the right leg is perfectly parallel.
Use the stomach to lift that leg up into the groin area,
strong straight right leg opening the left hip,
palms come together and focus.
And of course the name of this posture is the tree.
So you want to have a very strong trunk, that would be your right leg.
Reach your arms up to the ceiling,
strong straight arms, strong supporting leg
and the left leg is opening up to the side.
From here open the arm side,
bring the feet together back into mountain pose
and now for a more challenging pose we'll go into the attitude.
Take your left arm up to the left ear,
grab onto your right ankle and just hold this position for a moment.
So you know we're going to go into a back position
that will open up your spine and your front.
Remember to stand on a strong straight leg.
Reaching the body forward,
feeling the opposition you want to reach through the left arm
and through the right leg.
Lift that leg as high as you can behind,
reaching forward,
come back up, bend the knee and now to the other side.
Right arm up to the ear,
hold onto that left ankle and just get your bearing for a moment.
Pick a point in front of you,
lift up through the right arm
and now initiate by lifting up in that left leg.
Feel like you're reaching for something with that right arm.
Okay, beautiful job.
So ends our section on flexibility and balance.
Take a nice deep breath in,
exhale and hands to prayer.
Now that you've made it through strength and vitality
and flexibility and balance,
it's time for us to find a little peace of mind and serenity.
So let's quiet the body a bit
and I'm going to start by teaching you alternate nostril breathing.
Sit in the same comfortable cross-legged position that you began in.
Sit up nice and tall,
take your left hand in the following position,
index finger to thumb,
and allow the wrist to just gently fall on the left knee.
Take your right hand like so,
fold the index and the middle finger in,
and you're going to bring the fourth finger and the thumb
to close and block both nostrils.
Watch, take a breath in,
hold and close both nostrils and drop the chin.
Now when you need to exhale,
exhale through the right nostril only,
and then inhale back in through the right,
exhale through the left.
On your own time, I'll start with you.
Inhale, exhale.
Inhale, drawing the energy up to the top of the head.
Hold as long as you can,
exhale through the left.
Inhale through the left,
hold and block both nostrils,
exhale through the right.
And now let's do a round of five,
closing the eyes and trying to draw the focus
even further inside the body and the mind.
Inhale, exhale.
Inhale, exhale.
One more round, inhaling up.
On this next exhalation,
allow the right hand to fall down to the right knee,
lift the chin up, and just allow the head to float
on top of the shoulders.
Let's now go into this position on the back
so that we can start some spinal twists,
but in a gentle way that will promote relaxation
and openness in the center of the body.
Take the arms open to a cross position,
bring both knees into the chest,
rooting the stomach to the spine,
take your legs over to the left side of the body
as far as you can,
and allow the head to turn to the right side of the body.
Do your best to keep the right shoulder down
into the floor as an anchor,
breathing in and breathing out.
Using the abdominals, pull the knees back into center,
and now of course go over to the opposite side.
The knees are together, the stomach is in,
and take the left glance over your fingertips,
breathing in and out.
Use the stomach to bring the knees in,
and let's do another round.
Take the knees over to the left side,
the head looks over to the right,
palms pressing into the floor,
and take the legs only as far as you can.
Remember, if this is enough, this is where you stop.
If you can continue, allow the weight of the knees
to come fully into the floor, breathing.
Scooping your deepest abdominals in,
pull the knees back, and last time over to the right.
Take the head gently over to the left,
pressing the arms into the floor,
and allow the left knee to fall gently on top of the right.
From here, bring the knees into the chest,
hug both knees in,
and rock gently on the spine from side to side.
And now the same thing but using a single bent leg.
So take the left leg down underneath you,
fully extend it, and simply pull the right knee into the chest.
Align your body properly,
and now take hold of your right knee with your left hand,
extending the right arm out to the right,
using the stomach, a gentle spinal twist,
bringing the leg over towards the left.
And here I encourage you to listen to your body,
and don't push this form.
Take it only as far as your spine feels comfortable.
The deeper you breathe, the further your body will stretch.
Come back to center, and in this position,
extend the foot up to the ceiling,
holding onto that right leg wherever it feels most comfortable for you.
Either behind the knee, or higher up towards the ankle.
Straightening both legs on the exhalation,
lift the chin to the chest,
and try to bring the forehead so that it meets the shin.
Flex both feet for a deeper stretch.
Stay here and breathe.
From here, lower the upper torso,
and try to bring the leg back a little bit further.
Eventually, you'll bring the leg all the way behind the head.
Come back, send the leg down, and let's take it to the left side.
Pull the left knee into the chest, relax it in the hip socket,
right hand to the left knee, left arm extended out.
Bring the foot to your knee for extra support,
and now twist the leg over to the right.
Remember, don't let that left shoulder pop off the floor.
Keep it well grounded.
Pull that knee back into center,
and now let's extend the left leg up to the ceiling.
Strong, straight legs, breathing in,
and breathing out.
Lift the chin to the chest,
and try to bring the forehead all the way up to the shin.
Flex both feet for a deeper stretch.
Lower the torso, pull the leg behind,
or right to the chest, send it down nice and long.
Bend both knees, and curling up to a sitting position.
All right, rolling down through the spine,
lifting both legs up to the ceiling,
you're going to lift the legs overhead using the stomach,
and flex the feet into the floor.
Work your shoulders underneath you.
If you can, bring your palms together,
and extend your arms down in front.
If not, if you feel like this is too difficult,
simply reach the arms in front.
Flex the feet deeply, and breathe.
Strong, straight legs, stomach engaged.
From here, reach your hands back to hold onto your ankles,
and do your best to keep your legs straight
as you massage the spine into the floor
while stretching the legs towards the face.
Pressing the lower back into the mat,
there's nothing better to relieve low back pain.
Flex your feet to the ceiling, and arms down by your sides.
Feel like you're supporting the ceiling with your heels
using strong, straight legs and arms pressing in.
Breathing three times.
Remember, breath to the belly, breath to the chest,
out of the belly, and out of the chest.
From here, use your deepest abdominals,
and we're going to lower the feet down to the floor
without lifting up, holding, holding, holding,
coming to rest on the floor.
And now a counter pose called the fish.
Bend your elbows slightly,
bring your hands just beneath your buttocks,
bend your elbows, flex your feet, arch your back,
and just allow a bit of weight to come onto the crown of the head,
opening the chest.
Now point the toes down, breathing in, and breathing out.
Gently ease back onto the floor.
Flex your feet, bend both knees, hug them into the chest.
Feet flat on the floor.
And now we're ready for something called Savasana.
I'm using the yogic term because it's perhaps one of the most important postures in yoga.
It's called the corpse pose,
and it's the pose in which you find the deepest state of relaxation.
It's the time when you really let go the most.
So get comfortable, find a position in the center of your mat,
roll down through the spine.
If you have a low back condition that you're concerned about,
bring your knees together and keep them bent.
If you feel that you're able to, release the legs down into the floor,
release your arms open to the sides of the body,
fold the shoulder blades underneath you, and release.
Try to close the eyes.
Tune in even more to the rhythm of your breathing.
Relax every part of your body and feel the weight of your body sinking into the floor.
Completely let go.
Release the muscles of your neck and shoulders,
your upper arms and your lower arms, your hands and your fingertips.
Bracing through every part of the body, the chest, the stomach, the buttocks,
the thighs, the backs of the legs, the knees, the shins, the calves, and finally the feet.
Breathe into every part of your body. Inhale...
and exhale.
Feel free to stay in this position longer than I'm going to.
You want to tune the body into a state of relaxation and prepare it for meditation.
After you've done several breaths in this position,
bend your knees into your chest and roll over to the right side of your body
into a fetal position. Just relax.
From here, keeping the eyes closed,
come back to a comfortable cross-legged position.
Take the index finger to the thumb.
Allow the hands to rest gently on the knees.
Breathe in deeply from the base of the spine all the way up to the top of the head.
Inhale...
and exhale.
Again, in...
and exhale.
Last breath. Inhale...
and exhale.
Now that you're completely relaxed and your focus is turned inward,
I encourage you to take this time to meditate,
to clear your mind of busy thoughts,
to focus only on the most important thing.
You and your health.
Think about turning your focus in on every part of your body
and then simply thinking about nothing.
Bring your palms together in front of your heart.
Take one last deep breath in.
Exhale, drop the chin to the chest, and very gently lower the body forward
so that the forehead comes to rest on the floor.
Uncurl through the spine one vertebrae at a time and come to sit up very tall.
In this last segment, Peace in Mind and Serenity,
we encourage you to find the quiet in your own mind.
As you learn to relax and still your mind,
you'll find that problems like insomnia and tension dissipate and are solved miraculously.
You have the power yourself each day to make this special appointment with yourself,
to quiet your mind by breathing,
opening the energy centers of your body,
and relying on yourself to further deepen your understanding and awareness
of who you are, where you go, and what you do.
Thank yourself for making this appointment with yourself,
and do your very best to continue on this path.
Thanks for being with me.
Peace.