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Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Hello. I'm Rodney Yee. Welcome to Yoga for Abs. Yoga is a complete system of self-care flexibility, builds power, and offers deep relaxation. Yoga can also restore the body mind to its natural balance. I have designed Yoga for Abs to build powerful abdominal muscles while retaining suppleness in the belly. The strength is for support, while the suppleness is for movement and good digestion. Think of the sleekness of a cat with a strong but supple belly that provides resilience and a presence. We begin Yoga for Abs by learning to sit with a healthy posture and to breathe in a way that releases tension and is more efficient. Then we will practice 15 minutes of abdominal strengthening exercises. These poses are designed to support the spine so the life force can easily surge up through this channel. This is not just muscular strength, but like a blade of grass breaking up through the cement, a vital force rather than a brute force. The goal is strength, suppleness, and receptivity. The program ends with three minutes of deep relaxation so your body mind can absorb and embrace the exercises. This program is an excellent introduction to Yoga with the added benefit of building powerful and attractive abs. Yoga can touch every aspect of your being. With regular practice, Yoga for Abs will help provide long-lasting health and vitality to your life. Namaste. Yoga for Abs. Begin seated on a blanket in simple cross-legged pose. Bring your awareness to your abdomen. Embrace the power of your abdomen to support and nourish your whole being. Inhale, exhale. Feel the natural curve of your lower back. Relax the lower ribs. Lift and broaden your chest. Balance your head over your spine. Experience your breath. As you inhale, feel your breath move down your body. As you exhale, feel the breath flow into your chest, your neck, and out through your nose. Inhale, exhale. Let's follow the movement of your natural breath with your hands. Inhale, now exhale. Let your breath and your hands flow up from your lap to your chest. Now inhale as your hands and breath move down the body. Exhale, flow up. Inhale, move down. Exhale. Inhale. Feel the natural movement of your breath. Your exhalation releases up and out. Your inhalation moves down into your pelvis. Soft, natural breath. Exhale, up. Inhale, down. Exhale, up. Inhale, down. Exhale, up. Inhale, down. Now slowly lower yourself onto your back, legs bent. Rest your hands on your lower abdomen. Inhale, exhale. Bring awareness to your breath as it moves throughout your body. With your exhalation, release the inner corners of the eyes. Your eyes relax back into your brain. Natural breath. On your next exhalation, feel the tension in your throat and your neck release. With each exhalation, feel your stomach and your abdomen soften. Notice the relaxation of your digestive organs. Slowly curl your tailbone and begin to flatten your back onto the ground. Feel the hollow of the abdomen. Inhale and release your groins and tilt your pelvis into an arched back. Exhale, curl the tailbone and hollow the belly. Inhale and arch up. Exhale, curl the tailbone and feel the hollow of the abdomen. Curl the tailbone and feel the hollow and yet firm abdominal muscles. Inhale, arch up. Exhale, release back to neutral. Now, slowly lower one leg at a time. Inhale and press the legs together firmly into the ground. Extend through the heels. Exhale, bring your right knee into your chest. As you hug it, inhale and expand. Exhale, bring the head and chest to the knee. Feel your hollow belly, the abdominal organs relax. Inhale, release. Exhale, bring the left knee to your chest. Inhale, extend. Exhale, head and chest to your knee. Curl and hollow the belly. Inhale and release the leg down. Exhale, right knee to your chest. Inhale, exhale, head and chest to the knee. Breathe and feel the relaxation of your throat and eyes. Inhale down. Exhale, left knee to your chest. Inhale, expand. Exhale, head and chest to the knee. Breathe. Breathe naturally. Inhale, release down again. Exhale, right knee to the chest. Inhale, exhale, head and chest to the knee. Now, take your right hand behind your head. Inhale, release down. Exhale, bring your left knee to your chest. Inhale, expand. Exhale, head and chest to the knee. Take your left hand behind the head. Breathe while relaxing your throat and your eyes. Hollow wide abdomen like the deep soft belly at the dunes. Inhale, release down. Exhale, both knees to your chest. Inhale, exhale, bring your head and chest to your knees. Breathe. Slowly lower your spine and keep the legs as they are. Extend your legs up into the air. Lengthen the back of the legs. Now, slowly lower them down and bend them in at the knees. Your feet slide along the ground until your legs are fully extended. Exhale, bend both into the chest. Inhale, exhale, head and chest to the knees. Take the hands behind your head. Slowly lower your spine to the ground. Extend the legs up. Now, lower your legs down, bent or straight. Keep your lower back along. Inhale, extend along the ground. Exhale, raise your legs bent or straight. Bend the knees into your chest. With your hands behind your head, lift your chest to the knees. Breathe naturally. Slowly lower the spine down. Extend the legs up. Exhale, lower the legs, lengthening from the top of the buttocks through the heels. Inhale, reach the legs along the ground. Exhale, raise your legs up. Inhale, exhale, bend your legs, feet on the ground. Move your hips five inches to the right. Inhale, bring the knees to the chest, feet flexed. Exhale, slowly lower your knees to the left. Keep your knees on the ground. Arch your lower back. Inhale and come back up. Exhale, feet on the ground. Now shift your hips five inches to the left. Inhale, bring the knees to the chest. Exhale, lower the legs to the right. Turn your head and gaze over your left shoulder. Breathe. Inhale, bring your legs back to center. With your feet on the ground, center your hips. Now raise your legs, bent or straight, up into the air. And slowly lower your legs down. Inhale, legs extended. Exhale, raise your legs up. Legs to chest. Inhale. Exhale, slowly lower the knees to the left, two inches from the floor. Breathe. Inhale, come back to center. Exhale, lower the knees to the right, two inches from the floor. Slightly turn your head to the left. Feel again the natural curve of the spine and the broadness of your abs. Come back to center. Extend your legs out and slowly lower them to the ground. Lengthen your legs through the heels. Inhale, slowly raise your legs up. Exhale, lower your legs to the left, two inches off the floor. Lift your chest and press your left arm to the ground. Inhale, bend your legs and bring them back to center. Extend your legs back up into the air. Exhale, slowly lower your legs to the right, two inches off the floor. Legs fully extended. Press your right arm and hand to the ground. Breathe. Open your chest. Bend your legs to come back up. Inhale, exhale, drop your feet to the ground. Now lift your chest towards your knees. Bring your hands and hold on to the back of the thighs. Extend your left leg out to eye level. Breathe. Feel the chest expand, the abs firm. Bend your leg back down. Now extend and raise the right leg out to eye level. Breathe. Lengthen and stretch your legs from the buttocks to the toes. Eyes soft. Bend your leg back down. Inhale, exhale. Head and chest to the knees again. Take a hold of the thighs. Extend the left leg out. Take your right hand behind your head. Release the hold of the left hand. Reach through the fingers. Curl your spine. Release your lower back. Exhale. Lift your head and chest to the knees. Take hold of your thighs. Extend the right leg out. Bring the left hand behind the head. With your right hand, release and reach out through the fingertips. Slowly lower down. Inhale, exhale. Bring your head and chest to your knees. Wrap your hands around the back of your thighs. Slowly extend both legs out to eye level. Half boat pose. Breathe. Soften your abdominal organs. Relax your face. Exhale. Slowly bend the legs and roll your spine back down. Now extend the legs. Bring your hands behind your head. Slowly lower your legs to the ground. Inhale, exhale. Raise your legs back up again. Chest to the knees. Take a hold of the back of the thighs. Extend the legs to eye level. Release the hands. Soft eyes. Soft throat. Soft inner body. Take a hold of the thighs again. Lower the spine. Extend your legs back up. Hands behind the head. Slowly lower the legs, reaching from the back body through the heels. Inhale, exhale. Lift the legs back up. Bend the legs. Bring the chest to the knees and hold on to the back of the thighs. Extend the legs out to eye level. Round your spine off the ground. Balance on the sacrum. Inhale, bring your hands behind your head. Breathe naturally. Slowly bend the legs to the chest. Take hold of the back of the thighs. Lower the spine to the ground. Hands behind the head. Extend your legs up. Slowly lower the legs down. Exhale, raise your legs back up and lower the feet to the ground. Take the right ankle over the left knee and draw the left knee into your chest. Lift your head and chest to your shin. Hold the right foot with your left hand and the right knee with your right hand. Extend the left leg along the ground. Hollow belly, soft abdominal organs. Squared off chest and hips. Inhale, release. Exhale, inhale. Exhale, raise your legs up. Bend the legs and place the feet on the ground. Take the left ankle over the right knee. Draw the right knee into the chest. Exhale, lift the head and chest to the shin. Hold the left foot in the right hand. Left knee in the left hand. Press the right leg into the ground. Breathe. Soft eyes, soft throat, soft inner body. Inhale, release. Exhale, raise the legs up. Bend your legs into the chest as you cross your ankles. Hold onto your feet with both hands. Begin to rock. Raise your arms and legs over your head as you inhale. Exhale, rock forward. Inhale, exhale. Rock back and forth six times. Now rock up into simple cross-legged pose. Inhale, feel the length of your spine. Extend the legs out into staff pose. Bring your legs into your chest, ankles crossed, feet off the ground. Breathe. Inhale, extend your legs back to staff pose. Exhale, bring your legs into the chest. Reverse the cross of the ankles, feet off the ground. Inhale, staff pose. Exhale, bring your legs into the chest again. Reverse the cross of the ankles, feet off the ground. Inhale, staff pose. Exhale, repeat again. Inhale. Exhale, simple cross-legged pose. Now roll forward onto all fours. Inhale, arch your back. Lift your chest and raise your head up into back bend. Exhale, curl your tailbone. Round the back and lower the head into cat. Inhale, back bend. Exhale, cat. Inhale, back bend. Exhale, cat. Turn your toes under. Slowly move to bent-legged standing forward bend. Empty and hollow the belly. Press your heels into the ground. Straighten the legs to standing forward bend. Now feel the strength of the legs, the release of the spine, the suppleness of the neck. Relax the neck and head. Lift your arches. Bend your legs, raise the body and place your hands on your thighs. As you inhale, your abdomen relaxes. As you exhale, your abdomen draws back to the spine. Inhale, abdomen out. Exhale, abdomen to the spine. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, stand up to mountain pose. Gaze forward, legs strong, chest lifted, abs supporting your spine. Eyes soft. Head balancing over your chest. Chest balancing over your abdomen. Abdomen over the pelvis. Pelvis over the legs. Now bend your legs and slowly lie down to reclined cobblers pose. Take your hands to your abdomen and feel the breath as it rises and falls. Relax any tension in the abdominal organs. Relax your groins, your throat, your eyes. Feel the warmth of your abs radiate out through your entire being, just like the sun warms the desert landscape and sand. Feel how you have created strength in your abdominal muscles while you've relaxed internally. The pull of your legs and reclined cobblers pose restores your natural spinal curves. If you feel any discomfort in your lower back, lift your hips and turn your buttocks down towards your heels. Feel the relaxation of your legs. Feel the gradual release of the skin of your face. Feel the openness of your chest and pelvis. Inhale. Exhale. Bring your knees together and extend your legs out one at a time into relaxation pose. Let your hands and arms drop open at your sides. Turn your shoulders under, lift your buttocks in a length in your lower back. Drop your legs open. Extend through your heels. Let go. Give yourself to the earth. Feel the power of your being come from the deep relaxation of your abdomen. I hope my Yoga for Abs program will bring strength, confidence, and good health to your life. Namaste. Aum. Aum. Aum. Aum. Aum. Aum. Aum. Aum. Aum. Aum. Aum. Aum. Aum.