YOGA, WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN OUR BODIES AND OUR MIND.
SO WE USE BREATHING PRACTICES, WE USE PHYSICAL POSTURES
IN ORDER TO CONNECT THE BODY AND THE MIND, RIGHT?
SO THAT WE CAN STAY IN OUR PRESENT MOMENT.
SO TODAY I HAVE 3 POSTURES THAT I'D LIKE TO WORK WITH YOU ON.
THE FIRST ONE WILL BE WARRIOR TWO.
SO COME ON AND STAND UP ON BOTH FEET,
NICE AND TALL.
BRING YOUR ATTENTION TO YOUR SPINE.
FIND YOUR SPINE GROWING LIKE A TREE
IN TWO OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS.
IMAGINE THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD IS FLOATING UP,
AND IMAGINE THAT THE TAILBONE IS PULLING DOWN.
AGAIN, A TREE GROWING OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS,
ROOTING AND LIFTING.
FIND YOUR BELLY PULLED IN,
AND POSITION YOUR FEET AS IF THEY WERE LIKE A NUMBER 11.
STANDING UP, SO WE'RE NOT AT A TENSION,
WE'RE NOT AT A TENSION, WE'RE STANDING LIKE A MOUNTAIN,
SOFT ON THE INSIDE AND STRONG ON THE OUTSIDE.
OKAY, WARRIOR ONE.
SLIDE THE RIGHT FOOT BACK,
KEEPING YOUR HIPS' POSITION STRAIGHT FORWARD,
AND BRING YOUR HANDS TOGETHER,
PRESSING EQUALLY INTO BOTH HANDS.
WE'RE BRINGING EVERYTHING TO THE CENTER NOW,
KEEPING ALL OF THIS NICE AND NEUTRAL IN THE PELVIS.
START TO BEND THAT LEFT KNEE.
VERY GOOD FOR YOUR LOWER BACK.
AGAIN, FEEL THE MUSCLE SQUEEZING AROUND THE BONES,
FEEL YOURSELF STRONG ON THE OUTSIDE,
AND THEN SOFT AND PEACEFUL ON THE INSIDE.
BRAVE WARRIOR.
YOU CAN KEEP YOUR HANDS LIKE THIS,
OR, IF YOU'D LIKE, GO AHEAD AND TAKE YOUR HANDS
UP TO THE SKY, NICE AND STRONG.
LONG AND HEALTHY NECK.
DEEP BREATHS.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
SO YOU WANT TO DO WHAT FEELS RIGHT FOR YOUR BODY.
AND IF YOU HAVE A BUM SHOULDER, OR IF YOU HAVE A NECK INJURY,
THEN YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GO THAT WAY,
YOU'RE GOING TO STAY WHERE IT FEELS RIGHT.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
THE BREATH IS LIKE A MASSAGE FROM THE INSIDE.
LET'S TAKE TWO MORE LIKE THAT.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
LAST ONE, BIG BREATH IN THROUGH THE NOSE...
AND OUT THROUGH THE NOSE.
AND IF THAT'S NOT COMFORTABLE,
AGAIN, YOU HAVE THE CHOICE TO BREATHE THROUGH YOUR MOUTH.
COMING BACK INTO MOUNTAIN POSE, AND WE'LL DO THE OTHER SIDE.
COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SIDE, BELLY FACES FORWARD,
BOTH LEGS STRAIGHT.
AND THAT'S, AGAIN, POSITIONING THAT LOWER BACK
IN A SAFE POSITION.
WHEN YOU HAVE IT, BEND YOUR RIGHT KNEE
JUST ABOVE THE ANKLE.
BRAVE WARRIOR.
SO, 4 MORE BREATHS.
THE POINT OF THIS POSTURE, AS ALL POSTURES,
IS FOR US TO NOTICE OURSELVES HERE.
HERE I AM IN MY LIVING ROOM.
HERE I AM BREATHING.
HERE I AM FEELING A LITTLE TWEAK IN MY RIGHT HIP.
HERE I AM GRIPPING ON MY TOES.
YOU'RE JUST NOTICING WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND YOU,
AND YOU'RE USING YOUR MIND AND YOUR BREATH
TO KIND OF COME BACK TO THE SENSE OF CALM.
WE'VE GOT TWO MORE BREATHS HERE.
SEE IF I CAN RELAX INTO IT JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE.
MY TOES ARE SOFTENED.
VERY NICE.
AND THEN, AGAIN, STEPPING FEET TOGETHER,
AND COME RIGHT BACK TO THIS MOUNTAIN POSE.
AND THIS IS WHAT WE JUST NOTICE ABOUT.
NOTICE WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE NECK AND SHOULDERS
AND THE FEET.
OKAY.
NEXT POSE, UTKATASANA, ONE OF MY FAVORITES.
IT'S CALLED CHAIR POSE.
SOME PEOPLE CALL IT DIFFICULT POSE.
I LIKE TO CALL IT DIFFICULT,
BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE WANT TO MAKE THINGS EASY.
IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE EASY.
IT'S A CHALLENGING POSE THAT WE WANT TO DO
TO LEARN HOW TO HANDLE THE CHALLENGES.
SO, BY BENDING MY KNEES,
I'M GOING TO SQUEEZE MY KNEES IN TOGETHER.
IF YOU NOTICE THAT YOUR KNEES ARE SPLAYING APART LIKE THIS,
YOU'VE GOT TO WORK THOSE INNER MUSCLES
AND SQUEEZE THEM TOGETHER.
EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO HOLD ONTO THEM.
RELAXING MY TOES, GRABBING ANKLES TOGETHER,
KNEES TOGETHER, I'M GOING TO SIT DOWN
LIKE THERE'S A CHAIR BEHIND ME.
NOW, ONE OF THE KEY COMPONENTS TO THIS POSTURE
IS A LOT OF US WANT TO TIP OVER LIKE THIS.
WE LOSE THE WORK, RIGHT? WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE IT EASY.
WE DON'T WANT IT EASY.
SO WE HAVE TO SIT UP NICE AND TALL,
WE HAVE TO KEEP THAT NEUTRAL TILT IN OUR PELVIS,
AND WE JUST GO DOWN, JUST SQUEEZING DOWN.
WE'LL STAY HERE FOR 5 BREATHS.
AND WE NOTICE THAT THE LEGS ARE BURNING A LITTLE BIT,
WE NOTICE THAT THE MUSCLES ARE STARTING TO TIGHTEN UP,
AND WE JUST BREATHE.
YOU CAN FEEL IT, RIGHT?
JUST RELAX INTO IT.
THERE WILL BE AN END IN SIGHT, ONE MORE BREATH.
AND THEN PRESSING THE FEET DOWN AT THE SAME TIME,
SLOWLY COME BACK UP,
AND COME BACK TO NEUTRAL.
RIGHT? THERE THAT IS.
ALL RIGHT. STANDING UP NICE AND TALL AGAIN.
AND BREATHE AND NOTICE.
AND THEN THE FINAL ONE FOR STANDING WILL BE TREE POSE.
SO IT'S THE SAME THING WE JUST DID,
BUT THIS TIME WE'LL BE BALANCING ON ONE LEG.
BRING YOUR LEFT LEG TO STAND ON THE FLOOR,
AND YOUR RIGHT KNEE COMES UP.
IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW HIGH UP YOU CAN COME.
SOME OF US CAN JUST PROP THE HEEL AGAINST THE ANKLE
IF BALANCE IS NOT WORKING FOR YOU,
OR IF YOU HAVE AN INJURY.
OTHERWISE YOU CAN SLIDE IT UP A LITTLE BIT.
THE KEY IS IT'S ABOVE OR BELOW THE KNEE.
WE DO NOT WANT IT ON THAT KNEE JOINT, RIGHT?
THAT'S VERY DANGEROUS FOR OUR KNEE.
SO, EITHER GOING BELOW,
OR IF YOU'RE FEELING A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBLE,
YOU CAN COME UP HIGHER.
EITHER WAY IS FINE.
BRINGING YOUR HANDS TOGETHER, AND YOU JUST KEEP CALM.
THIS IS THE SAME TECHNIQUE WE USE
WHEN WE'RE SITTING IN TRAFFIC,
OR SOMEONE'S FRUSTRATED WITH US, WE JUST STAY CALM.
RIGHT? YOGA IS A TOOL FOR LIFE.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S SWITCH, COME OUT LIKE YOU MEANT TO,
AND LET'S GO TO THE OTHER SIDE.
SQUEEZING EVERYTHING IN, TAILBONE'S DOWN.
CALM, PEACEFUL,
AND COMING IN AGAIN.
WHAT'S DIFFERENT ON THIS SIDE?
WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING IN.
WE'RE ALWAYS NOTICING WHERE WE ARE IN SPACE.
MY TOES ARE CLENCHING UP, I'M GOING TO RELAX THEM.
I CAN FEEL MYSELF DIPPING,
I'M GOING TO PULL THE TAILBONE IN.
I'M GOING TO STAY CALM, I'M GOING TO SMILE.
KEEP MY FACE NICE AND SOFT.
ONE MORE.
AND THEN SLOWLY COMING OUT.
AND BACK TO MOUNTAIN.
SO, YOGA IS A TOOL,
YOGA PRACTICE, NOT YOGA PERFECT.
PRACTICE IT EVERY DAY, AND YOU'LL FIND THAT
YOUR BODY AND YOUR MIND FEEL CALMER, QUIETER,
AND YOU FEEL MORE FIT IN YOUR OWN SYSTEM.
SO THESE ARE TOOLS,
THESE ARE TOOLS THAT WE CAN USE.
THE WHOLE POINT OF THEM
IS TO GET TO KNOW OURSELVES IN THE MOMENT.
TODAY I FEEL OUT OF BALANCE,
TODAY I FEEL STRONG, TODAY I FEEL JOYFUL.
JUST TO NOTICE OURSELVES, AND THEN USE AND APPLY
WHAT WE'RE LEARNING OUT IN LIFE.
SO IT'S A YOGA PRACTICE, WE PRACTICE EVERY DAY.
ALL RIGHT, I HOPE IT'S A BENEFIT.
FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, THANK YOU.
THE GOOD IN ME SEES THE GOOD IN YOU.
NAMASTE.