- Welcome to YNDI Yoga.

I'm Lana.

Enjoy this time to focus on you.

Meet yourself where you are.

For this class, some of the postures will be held a little longer so the alignment can be explained in greater detail.

Please feel free to take a break anytime, watch, and join in again, when you're ready.

Come to a seated position.

You can kneel and sit on a couple of blocks as we begin.

And lengthen up through your spine.

Relax down through your shoulders.

You might just need one block, so if you'd like, you can always take one of the blocks out and sit on one block.

Feel supported here as you sit down and a little forward tilt of your pelvis.

Close your eyes.

Relax down through your shoulders.

Point the crown of your head up towards the sky and lengthen up through your spine all the way up through the crown of your head.

Access the curve of your lower back as you have that subtle forward tilt of your pelvis.

And you can settle into your breath.

When your alignment and your posture are in the right position, you can breathe with more ease.

Feel your chest open and breathe nice and deeply.

Inhale and exhale through your nose.

Keep lengthening up through your spine.

Reach the crown of your head up towards the sky.

Release tension out of your jaw.

Relax your jaw, relax your shoulders.

Feel the body relax and the expansiveness of the breath.

Softening the outer shell of the body.

I invite you to set an intention here for your practice.

Bring your palms together and thumbs to your heart center.

Softly open your eyes.

Come up to your hands and take the block out from underneath.

Find your way into a tabletop position.

Place your palms right underneath your shoulders and knees right under the hips, so the knees are about six inches apart.

Look at your hands and point your index fingers forward and spread the fingers wide so the index fingers are parallel to one another.

Notice the symmetry between the hands as that will inform the alignment of the shoulders.

Gaze slightly forward and suck your lower belly in like you're knitting your lower ribs together.

Feel strong here in this pose, pressing the ground away.

Take an exhale, tuck your chin in and round your back.

Inhale, slowly lift your gaze.

Lift your tailbone up and open up through your chest.

Exhale, press the ground away.

Round your back.

Tuck your chin in, gaze towards your navel.

Inhale, slowly relax your belly down and bring your gaze up towards the sky.

Point your tailbone up.

Exhale, belly in, round your back, stretching your upper back, releasing tension in your upper back and neck and inhale, slowly lift your gaze.

Open up through your chest.

Exhale and round.

Pull your navel into your spine.

Empty out your lungs.

Inhale.

Fill your lungs.

Breathe into the lower lobes of your lungs.

Fill your lungs as you look up, and exhale, empty it out, round your back.

Inhale, lift your gaze.

Open up through your chest.

Exhale, suck your belly in, press the ground away.

Inhale, feel that connection here between your breath and your body.

The breath leads, exhale round your back.

The body follows.

You can pause here if you like and take a couple breaths.

As you round the back, keep pressing the ground away.

Inhale, lift your gaze, open up through your chest.

Exhale, take it back to a child's pose.

Bring your hips back.

You can open your knees and extend your arms forward.

If it's comfortable, you can bring your forehead down towards the ground.

Child's pose helps to stretch the hips, the thighs and the ankles, and it also helps calm the brain, relieving stress and fatigue.

Stay with your breathing and relax your hips.

Release and let go.

Slowly rise up to a table top.

Be sure you're in the right alignment with your knees or hands, inhale, lift your gaze.

We're going to prepare for downward dog.

So curl your toes under and walk your hands forward just a couple inches pointing your index fingers forward and lift your hips up.

You can bend your knees.

So in downward dog, we create the inverted V with the body.

Hips up high, relax your head down.

Look up to your hands, your hands should be right in line with your shoulders.

Spread the fingers wide and make sure your hands are symmetrical with one another.

And the feet are hip width apart.

Again, you can bend your knees to lift your hips up high.

Come forward to plank pose.

This is the distance between your hands and your feet and downward facing dog.

Gaze forward, lift up through your rib cage.

Exhale back, downward facing dog.

If you need to modify, you can go to extended puppy dog pose, bringing your knees down, lifting your hips up and you can relax your head down so your head is still below your heart, extending through the arms.

And if that is too much, you can always take it down to a child's pose, bringing your hips back down to your heels.

So be aware that there are options for your practice.

If you're staying in your downward facing dog, keep your head relaxed down, lift your hips up and start with your base.

Connect to your hands on the ground.

Spread your fingers and press down between your index finger and your thumb.

At any time you can look to your hands, making sure they're in the right alignment and they're symmetrical with one another.

Make sure your feet are about hip width apart.

Keep pressing down to lift.

So lift up out of your wrists, up out of your shoulders, suck your belly in, pull your navel into your spine.

You can push your thighs back so your legs are active in the pose.

Get your lower ribs together here.

Look up to your hands and walk your feet all the way up to the top of the mat.

Feet hip width apart, hands to your shins, inhale, half lift, exhale and fold.

Inhale, rise up.

Lift your arms up overhead and exhale, palms together, thumbs to the heart.

Bring your arms down and stand in a nice tall Tadasana here, with your feet hip width apart, connect to your feet.

Root down with the four corners of each foot.

And just like in downward dog, press down to lift up, lift up out of your ankles, up out of your hips.

Knit your lower ribs together, belly in.

Reach the crown of your head up towards the sky and feel a subtle scoop of your tailbone.

Suck your lower belly in and up.

Bring your palms together, thumbs to your heart.

Inhale, reach your arms up high.

Exhale, bring your arms back down to your side and palms together, thumbs to heart.

Inhale, sweep your arms up high.

Exhale, lower your arms down.

Connecting the breath with the body.

Inhale, arms up, exhale, arms down, palms together.

Inhale, reach your arms up, root down with your feet.

Exhale, hinge from your hips, forward fold.

You can bring your hands to your thighs at any time if your back is tight or if you have an injury and lift up through your chest, or you can have your hands on your shins here.

Lengthen through your spine and gaze forward.

Exhale, fold.

Inhale, press into your shins or your thighs, gaze forward.

Exhale, fold.

Inhale, rise up, arms up overhead.

Exhale, palms together, thumbs to the heart.

Inhale, reach your arms up, look up.

Exhale, hinge from your hips, forward bend.

You can bend your knees.

Inhale, flat back.

Exhale, fold.

Inhale, lengthen through your spine, gaze forward.

Exhale, fold.

Inhale, reach your arms up overhead and exhale, palms together, thumbs to the heart.

Inhale, reach your arms up.

Exhale, hinge from your hips, forward fold.

Bring your hands to your shins.

Inhale, gaze forward.

Bring your hands to the ground.

Plant your hands down and walk back to plank pose.

Lift up through your rib cage.

Engage your thighs and your glutes.

Gaze forward.

Suck your belly in.

You can lower your knees down.

Keep everything in tight, belly in tight.

Keep your focus forward, not straight down.

And the hands are in the same alignment of downward facing dog.

Index fingers point forward.

We're going to slowly take it down to the belly.

Hug your elbows in and slowly control, coming down.

Shoulders down, away from the ears.

Come all the way down.

Can bring your chin down.

Uncurl your toes, spread your fingers and peel your chest up for a low cobra.

Bend your elbows.

Feel like your hands are sliding back to your hips and your chest is pushing forward.

Gaze forward.

Using your lower back to lift.

Slowly, push back.

Child's pose.

Open your knees.

Bring your hips down and relax your head down.

And breathe.

Slow inhale, slow exhale.

Come back up to your hands table top.

Curl your toes downward dog.

Be sure you have the right alignment between your hands and your feet and your heels do not need to touch.

Bend your knees.

Lift your hips up.

Belly in.

Move down through your knuckles and the tops of your palms.

Push your thighs back and draw the crown of your head down towards the ground.

Set your shoulders up towards your hips.

Externally rotate your shoulder joints in downward dog, like you're bringing your armpits closer together.

Breathe.

Stay with your breath, let your breath guide you.

Look up to your hands and walk your feet slowly all the way up to the top of the mat.

And have your feet hip width apart.

Bring your hands to your shins.

Inhale, lift your gaze, flat back.

Exhale and fold and surrender.

Inhale, rise up.

Reach your arms up overhead.

Exhale, palms together.

Thumbs to the heart.

Inhale, reach your arms up lift your gaze.

Exhale, hinge from your hips and folds.

Inhale, flat back.

Walk back to plank pose.

Pull everything in tight.

Lift up through your rib cage so your hips do not sway down.

Engage your thighs and you can lower your knees down again.

Now we're going to do a modified Chaturanga.

Hug your elbows in and come down so your elbows are just 90 degrees.

Point your shoulder points forward.

Keep your belly in, keep lifting up through the rib cage.

So fuel your strength and slowly push forward to a lifted Cobra so you can bend your elbows, hips on the ground and open up through your chest, shoulders down and back.

Feel your hands connected to the ground.

You can lift your gaze up a little bit more.

And exhale back.

Extended puppy dog pose or child's pose.

Breathe.

Downward facing dog.

Lift your hips up.

And as your head is below your heart, this helps wake up the energy in your body.

Downward dog also helps to decompress the spine.

Keep pulling your navel into your spine.

Soften your knees.

Lock your feet all the way up to the top of the mat.

Inhale, flat back, belly in.

Exhale and fold forward.

Inhale, reach your arms up overhead.

And exhale, palms together, thumbs to the heart.

Inhale, reach your arms up high.

Exhale, hinge from your hips, forward fold.

Inhale, flat back.

Walk back to plank pose.

You can do either of the other variations we did before, or you can try a Chaturanga, starting with a strong plank, belly in, thighs tight.

Make sure you have the same alignment with your hands and the hands are symmetrical.

Suck your belly and lift up through your rib cage.

Engage your thighs and your glutes.

Focus a little bit forward here so your head doesn't drop down.

So everything's lifted and tight.

Press the ground away.

Protract your shoulder blades.

Suck your belly in.

Now shift your weight a little forward.

We're going to do a Chaturanga.

Elbows in, come down so your elbows are a 90 degree angle.

Keep everything in control.

Belly in, focus forward.

And slowly, carefully push up for upward facing dog or Vamika Shavasana.

Hands are right below the shoulders.

You can always modify upward dog and do a cobra instead.

In up dog, the knees and the hips lift up off the ground.

Lift up out of your lower back.

Open up through your chest.

Press the ground away with your hands.

Shoulders down and back.

Opening the front side of the body.

To modify you can do a lifted cobra pose like what we did earlier with the hips down, chest open, or a low Cobra with the belly on the ground and just lifting the chest up a little bit.

So that's more gentle.

And exhale back, downward facing dog.

And in downward dog we open the back side of the body.

Relax your head down.

Two eyes on one point.

Look in between your feet or your thighs.

Relax your head down.

Keep pressing the ground away.

Walk your feet all the way up to the top of the mat.

Inhale, flat back.

Exhale and fold.

Inhale, reach your arms up.

Exhale, palms together, thumbs to the heart.

Make sure your feet are in the right alignment.

They're parallel to each other.

And we'll go into tree.

Shift the weight to your left leg.

You can bring your right heel to your right ankle or your right foot to your inner left calf.

Palms together, thumbs to the heart.

Or you can have your right foot to the inner left thigh.

Press your left foot down into the ground and lift everything else up from there.

Get taller in your tree.

Bring your right knee forward and lower your right foot down.

Other side, weight into your right leg.

Bring your left heel to the inner right ankle.

Palms together, thumbs to the heart.

Inner right calf.

Or the inner right thigh.

Focus on one point in front of you and get taller in your tree.

So press the ground away with your right foot.

Belly in, knit your lower ribs together here.

So similar alignment and plank.

Even in downward dog and how we hold our body.

Left knee forward and left foot down.

Slowly come down to the seat and lie on your back.

We'll get ready for a bridge Setubandha.

Bend your legs and separate your feet about shoulder width apart, a little wider than hip width.

The fingertips can touch the heels, and lift your hips up.

You can have your arms straight down, palms down.

You can also do a restorative variation of this, bringing a block right underneath your sacrum.

So position the block where you feel supported.

Look up towards the ceiling and feel your lower back relax.

Feel the feet connected down towards the ground.

Distribute the weight evenly between the four corners of each foot.

And experience your sacrum widening and relaxing.

Lift your hips up and take the block out and slowly roll your spine back down.

Supta Buaddha Konasana, soles of the feet together.

Open your hips and your knees.

You can also put blocks here right underneath your thighs to have support and control the range of motion in your hips.

It makes it more restorative.

Feel free to close your eyes.

As we're opening the hips, we're awakening and balancing the sacral Chakra in the body, that's represented by water and our ability to go with the ebb and flow of life.

Bring your knees in and extend your legs all the way down.

Bring your right knee in, and interlace the fingers right underneath your right knee on the top of your shin.

Gently pull your right knee in towards your right shoulder.

Keep your right heel right above your right hip and the left calf on the ground.

Release right leg down, left knee in.

Interlace the fingers right below the knee.

Elbows in and breathe.

Squeeze it in tight, so good for your digestive system.

Gaze down towards your chest and press the back of your head on the ground.

Lower your left leg down.

Bring both knees in.

Wrap your arms around.

You can hold your wrists, your forearms, or your elbows.

Hold as high up on the arm as you can.

Pull your knees in and push your hips away.

Press down in between your shoulder blades.

Release your legs all the way down, arms into the side.

Get ready for a belly spine twist.

Bend your legs, feet on the ground and have a block handy.

Scoot your hips to the right and bring your knees to the left, and you can place the block right in between your thighs.

Right hip right above the left hip.

Right arm extends out.

You can hook your left hand outside your right knee.

Gaze over your right shoulder and relax.

Again, you can close your eyes.

Feel your right shoulder relax down into the ground.

Come back through center, feet on the ground.

Scoot your hips to the left.

Bring your knees in and over to the right and place the block again in between your thighs.

Extend your left arm out and look over your left shoulder.

Relax and surrender.

Release any extra effort in your body in this moment so you can relax a little deeper.

Melt your left shoulder down into the ground.

Come back through center.

And extend your legs all the way back down.

Arms to the side.

Final relaxation, final Shavasana.

Separate your legs and your arms as much as you like.

And if it's comfortable for your shoulders, palms face up.

Be ready to receive.

Allow your whole body to relax into the ground.

Release any extra effort.

Feel your bones heavy in the ground.

Whole body completely relaxed.

Take your time, bring your knees in and go to either side to a fetal position.

Remind yourself of your intention, and take that with you off your mat and into your day.

Come all the way up to a seat.

You can start how we started our practice, kneeling down and sitting on a block.

Create the right posture, right alignment here for your spine.

Point the crown of your head up towards the sky to access your potential.

Close your eyes.

Palms together, thumbs to your heart center.

Namaste.

(intriguing music) (upbeat music)