Yoga For Weight Loss | Fat Burning Workout | Yoga With Adriene
Yoga For Weight Loss
Hello, and welcome to Yoga with Adriene. I am Adriene. Today we’re going to learn a quick sequence for weight loss, so we’re going to use the entire body, stimulate the belly, get that digestive tract happy and healthy for the new year, and we’re going to begin today on our mats, duh, on our backs. So let’s come to flat back position, hmmmm, and this pony tail is not working out for me. There we go. All right. I am going to tuck my chin into my chest, lengthen through the back of the neck. I am going to press into my head like I did in Chavasan video. I am going to press into my elbows.
I am going to draw my shoulder blades in together and down, just creating a little space, broad collar bone here, open chest, mmmmmmmm, and I relax back down, and I am going to extend my legs out long and inhale, reach my fingertips up and over my head, full body stretch here from fingertips to toes I can point and flex the feet, and this is organic here. This is easy-breezy beautiful cover girl, and I really just want to take a moment right now to say that the more organic movement we can find and create, the more correct we’re doing our yoga. So although I am here to guide you, feel free to move within the sequences, especially as we continue on through the year. Find that organic movement in your body. Okay, so I am going to inhale in, stretch one last time. Just full body stretch just waking up from fingertips to toes, and then on exhale, I am going to flex my feet, toes up towards the sky, and slowly psheeeeeewwwww, float my fingertips down by my side. I will plant my palms here, and then just checking in with this core, this belly which we’re going to bring a lot of attention to here, at the top of the year, just kind of stimulating, massaging those internal organs.
Yoga For Weight Loss
Again, getting that digestive tract happy and healthy. Pressing into the palms. Instead of going right leg, left leg, or one leg than the other, I am going to bring my awareness to my navel. Udi and abunda, we draw the navel towards the spine, tuck the pelvis, and then just check in, even if it’s not possible in this moment, I am going to slowly try to lift both knees up at the same time. So you might be like haha! No way. And that’s fine, and then if it didn’t happen on the first time and you want to try it again sometimes I’d like to do it a couple of times just to, “Oh, yeah,” check in with my center. From here I’ll scoop the tail bone up, letting my lower back become flush with the mat. Feel free to rock a little side to side, hug your knees into your chest if you need a moment here, pheewww. And then from here I am going to inhale.
Yoga For Weight Loss
Slowly lift my knees so that they are above my hip points. Now my lower back is going to want to come up from the mat, mmmm, mmm, I am going to scoot my tailbone up and support my back by drawing my navel in, also checking in with that center again, connecting to the abdominal wall. Right away here I am already feeling this fire in my belly. So if I am feeling like it’s difficult to keep the lower back flush with the mat, bring your knees a little bit in front of the hip point. So rather than stacking them evenly, especially for beginner it’s nice to get that lower back down to the ground. I can point my feet here. I can flex my teat, feet, my teat [laughs], I can flex my feet. I can spread my toes, yogi toes, it doesn’t matter. I just want a little bit of brightness, a little bit of awareness to the feet so I am not just hanging into my bones, but I am nice an stacked; bright in the feet.
Inhale, reach the fingertips up towards the sky and behind again, pheeewww, on an exhale I settle in, opening the shoulders. Then I am going to interlace here, bring them behind my head, keeping my thumbs extended here, maybe giving my neck a little massage, and then opening the shoulders. Now this whole time I am not just hanging out. I am drawing my navel down. I am scooping my tailbone up. So the opposite of that would look like this, but I am scooping my tailbone up, drawing my navel towards my spine. Shins parallel with the ceiling, knees in front of the hip points if you need a little more lower back support. Press your elbows into the mat. Tuck your chin into your chest. Inhale in. As you exhale, scoop your tail bone up, draw you navel down, and slowly begin to lift the head, the neck the shoulders, the elbows. It doesn’t have to be a Cirque du Soleil move. It can just be a nice, little hover here.
In fact, imagine you’re holding a big piece of fruit, maybe a big, juicy mango or cantaloupe, or whatever the heck you want in between your chin and chest. So rather than coming into a crunch as we’re used to, I am creating space. I am really drawing my navel down as I keep my elbows nice and wide. The tendency here is to crunch. I am going to keep it nice and long imagining my big piece of fruit here. My belly is working out right now, and then tendency number two is that the elbows kind of want to come in to shield yourself from the hell, and instead we want to open ourselves up to the light. That was cheesy, sorry, but it’s true. So, keeping it nice and open and soft in the face on that same grace note.
Yoga For Weight Loss
It’s like instead of clinching here I am letting my belly do the work. I am creating that inner fire. I am breathing nice, long, smooth deep breaths, keeping those elbows wide. Psheeeeeeeew. Pfeeeeeeeeew. Using my thumbs to pull the back of the neck, nice and long. [breaths] After a couple of nice, long deep breaths here. I will inhale in and exhale slowly lower down, taking a rest here, bringing the soles of the feet to the outer edges of the mat, and then letting the two knees fall into center. I take a couple of breaths here, just relaxing, and breathing into the belly.
Again, remember when you inhale, we fill the body with air, so that breath travels down. When you exhale it comes back up and out through the nose or mouth. So I am taking my arms here to cactus arms, just opening taking a breather, and then I will come back. Inhale, bringing the knees above the hip points or slightly in front. Shins parallel, right away, scooping my tailbone up, drawing my navel down. Interlacing the fingertips, bringing them behind the head, thumbs extended as once again I find that nice, big open space between my chin and my chest, my chin and my heart.
Elbows are going to want come in here, but instead I am going to open the mouth wide. Pffeeeew. Now you can see me point and flexing and moving my feet. That’s because rather than coming into our perfect, asana shape which I am not inspiring us to do, I want us to. I do want us to be in correct alignment, but I want us to empower each other, especially in yoga, but in life, to find what feels good and to work organically into the posture.
Then we come into whatever that perfect pose is. So keeping it alive. Pfeewww. Listening to my body. My belly is working really hard here. Again, I am going to take a couple of nice, long deep breaths. Let’s take five here as I extend through the crown of the head and exhale scooping the tail bone up. Pshhheeeeew. Elbows nice and wide. Skin in the face soft. [breath] So even though I am working really hard in the belly here. Keep breathing. I am finding a grace, a sense of ease in the upper body, supporting my lower back by drawing the navel in.
Now, I can take a rest here, or to go one step further, I am going to inhale in as I exhale. I am going to shoot my fingertips out towards the outer edges of my mat. I am going to turn my palms face up so the shoulders can real
Now, I can take a rest here, or to go one step further, I am going to inhale in as I exhale. I am going to shoot my fingertips out towards the outer edges of my mat. I am going to turn my palms face up so the shoulders can really drop in the socket coming away from the ears. I can come into moodra here if I like, whatever you like. Open palms, and we take a couple of breaths here, again, building that fire in the belly, massaging those internal organs, staying nice and loose and easy-breezy in the next. Psheewwwww. Again, knees are above the hip points or slightly in front. I am open in the throat chaka, so I am not crunching here, but nice and open. Let’s take one more deep breath here. This is kind of like a cockroach pose.
I am going to regret this. I am going to look at this video and be like, “What are you doing?” But I am engaging my core. Here we go. One last breath. Psheeeew. On an exhale I am going to come to recline butterfly. Soles of the feet together, and just letting it all hang for one breath, mmmmmmmmmmmm, and I extend my toes out, reach my fingertips up and overhead, again, nice full body stretch. Pfffffffff, and exhale floating the palms down, psshewwwwww. Once again, I am going to see if I can hug my knees into my chest by bringing them both in at the same time. Here we go, let’s see if I can do it. Yeah, baby, and then rocking a little side to side, massaging the lower back. Inhale, draw the toes up towards the sky. Now, if the legs straightened, great, if not, keep them bent, who cares? Bend your knees as generously as you need to letting the blood flow in the opposite direction.
I am scooping my tailbone up, navel down towards the earth. If I can straighten my legs, I am going to flex my feet so my toes are pointing now towards my face, pressing into the heels, pressing into the tops of the thighs, and then inhale, reaching the fingertips up and overhead. Exhale, I am going to slowly lift, just like I did before, head, neck, shoulders as I reach my fingertips towards my ankles, but again, I am not crunching here. I am keeping it nice and open in the upper body. So it’s still keeping that broadness in the chest. Fingertips reaching towards the heels again. If I bend my knees, same, no big deal here. Finding what feels good, listening to my body, keeping that big piece of fruit between my chin and chest. Shoulders drawing away from the ears. One more breath here. Hang with me, and then exhale and we come back.
Psssssheeewww. Fingertips reaching up and overhead. Inhale in here. Extend through the crown of the head, long neck, exhale, reach your fingertips. Draw your navel down, reaching towards my heels. Psseeeeeewwwww. Inhale, reach it back, and now we flow. Exhale, reaching up, psheeeeeewwwww. Inhale, fingertips reaching up behind you. Exhale, peeling it up, nice and long in the spine. Inhale, reaching back, exhale, navel draws up. Scoop your tailbone up towards your heels, and back and two more, inhale, exhale, pseeeeeewwww, [inhale], pseewewwwwww.
Now, for a little more fire in the belly. I can take five breaths to pulse here. So I am keeping my toes pointing or my heels flexing, and I will pulse. [sounds] Kind of snorted on one of those. Okay, I am reaching towards the outer edges of my feet. Inhale, reach the fingertips back, exhale, floating the palms down. Route your palms to the earth and just for funzies checking in with my core I press into my palms and slowly lower down. I am with control, with ease. Even if I only get this far on the collapse involved, that’s fine. Checking in with that belly, that fire. Psheeeewww. Slowly lowering down, using the palms, navel drawing towards the spine, and then when the heels release, I take a second here to relax and rock the head a little side to side, ear to ear.
When I am satisfied, I will pancake the palms back down on the earth and inhale, last time, drawing those knees at the same time back into the center. This time crossing the right ankle over the left, grabbing onto the outer edges of the feet, I can take a second here to just find that full body smile, bending the elbows left to right. Rock a little side to side, and then I am going to rock and roll it up, north to south. So inhale, exhale, start rocking. You can do this a couple of times here, massaging the spine. It might look and feel a little ridiculous at first, but it’s awesome. Kind of working out the kinks, and then eventually I will come to rise back up. I will put my hair back up because my hair is all asymmetrical. I did a movie last year and they cut asymmetrical and I haven’t got a haircut yet because I am just going with the flow. It’s 2013 baby! Okay, so I have created this fire in my belly. I am feeling it right now. I am going to continue on my journey by pressing the palms in front of me, spreading the palms wide, and then slowly transitioning to all fours.
So just situate yourself in the center of your mat. Come to that tabletop position, spreading the palms wide. I inhale in, exhale, press up and out of my foundation. Drawing the shoulders away from the ears here. Inhale, look forward, drop your belly and exhale. I am slowly going to transition into downward dog by curling the toes under, walking my fingertips forward, and then slowly lifting the hip points up towards the sky, nice and slow on this first one as I peddle the feet out. Pressing into my palms, tops of the shoulder, rotating away from the ears, just working out here for a couple of breaths, nice, long, smooth, deep breaths as I massage my feet, and wake up my dog, bending the knees generously, and then now I would like you to imagine there is a hurdle in the center of your mat.
Remember track and field day, those were fun! I used to eat sour pickles. Anyway, big hurdle in front of the mat, nice, friendly hurdle, right? That’s a metaphor if I ever said one. Inhale in. As you exhale you’re going to go up and over that hurdle. So rather than just transition and collapsing into the bones to plank. Ah, ha, ha, ha. I am going to go up and over. I am going to empower myself. I am going to light up the body. So inhale in. As I exhale I am going to up on my tippy-tip toes, drawing my navel up towards my spine and slowly shifting my weight forward into plank. As I slowly lower my hip points, I extend through the heels. I squeeze the buttocks together, shoulder blades in and together as I extend through the crown of the head, maybe taking the gaze slightly forward, and then I take a deep breath in here and exhale.
Rock on the toes, draw the navel up, go back up and over that hurdle, psssseeeew. Dropping the heels here. It doesn’t matter if the heels touch the earth or not. Just working it out, being in the moment. Inhale in as I exhale again, up and over the hurdle. Think up, and over and instead of settling in here to the bones, I am keeping that upward motion. I am drawing up through my navel, squeezing my shoulder blades together. I begin to press into my heels. Maybe take the gaze slightly forward. Inhale in. Exhale back up and over. Send it back. Downward dog. Psseeeewww. Peddle the feet. Take a deep breath in and exhale up and over, drawing the navel towards the spine, and again instead of settling in here, I come into my plank with an integrity, with a nice, strength in the core, really stimulating those internal organs, that abdominal wall, nice and strong, pressing up and out, here I go, up and over the hurdle.
Haaaaaa, and one more time. Deep breath in, and exhale, pseeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. [inhale] Pseewwwwwwwwwww. Peddle the feet. Drop the left heel. Slide the sole of the right foot up. So rather than just hiking the leg up, I am going to slide. Draw a line with my right foot up, keeping the hips level here so not letting them stack right now, but keeping it nice and level, drawing my navel in. I will inhale in, exhale slowly, bend that knee, shift your weight forward. Nose to knee. Inhale, extend, drop the left heel. Lift the right leg up and exhale shifting forward, nose to knee.
Psewwwwww. Rounding the navel drawing in. Only three of these lifting up, last one, and exhale psweeeeeewwwwwwwww. And this time stepping that right leg up into our runner’s lunge. Check it out. Working out the kinks. Opening up through the left hip crease. Peeling that right hip crease back. Making sure I am not on a tight rope here, but rather on two parallel lines, and then looping the shoulders forward up and back. I find a little bit of a lift. So even if I am not finding a big lift here, just taking some of the weight out of my fingertips to check in with that core. One breath here as we just check in. Pssewwwww, and then planting the palms. I will step it back downward facing dog.
Psweew. Know dropping the right heel, sliding the sole, the left leg up. I slide it on a breath in, and on an exhale slowly shifting forward. Psweeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww. Nice and slow, nose to knee. Only do three of these here, so take your time. Inhale, extend, dropping the right heel, extending the left leg, pressing up and out of the palm and shifting forward on an exhale, nose to knee, navel drawing up, pseeewwwwwwwwww. Last one, inhale, extending through the left leg, right heel drops, exhale, shifting forward, navel draws in, nose to knee, full body experience here. Nice and slow. Inhale, extending the leg out, and then hiking it back up. Sounds a little different doesn’t it? Mmmmmm. Runner’s lunge.
Give it a little rock. Peel that left hip crease back here. Open up through the right hip crease. Take a second to come off the fingertips just to check in with your core, looping the shoulders forward, up and back. Inhale in, smile. Exhale, plant your palms. This time step it to plank. So whether I am in full plank or half plank I am wanting to create a nice, straight line from the crown of the head to the tip of the tailbone.
This diagonal line. I am going to inhale in here, and exhale, bend my elbows just halfway. Psweeewwwwww. Inhale, extend. Pfffff. Exhale, bending half way. Psweeew. Inhale, extend, and last time, only three, half way, and then we come up all fours, bring the two big toes together, open the knees as wide as the mat, inhale, scoop your heart, and exhale. Halleleujah! We sent the sit bones back to kiss the heels, and we can either rest here and extend a child’s pose, or we can slowly draw the palms together and take a variation here bringing the palms behind the head.
Mmmmmmm. Three nice long deep breaths here. [inhale][exhale] On your inhale, see if you can fill the lower back with air. On your exhale imagine your sit bones melting down to kiss your heels. Pssseeewwwwww. Inhale in. Exhale, drawing the shoulder blades in together so there’s lots of space between the ears and shoulders even here. After three breaths I’ll inhale in again to look up, drawing my fingertips forward, and again, nothing fancy, just a nice, organic transition here as I spread the palms, awareness in all ten finger prints. Come back to all fours. And whenever you’re ready, curling the toes under, drawing that navel in as I slowly lift up, ahhhh.
There, more facing dog. Same thing with a little bit of a twist now. Here we go, dropping the left heel. I will inhale, slide the sole of the right foot up. Keep drawing your navel in towards your spine. On an exhale I am going to shift my weight, but this time I am going to really consider going up and over my hurdle as I draw my nose to my knee, pssseeeeewww. Inhale, extend it back, dropping the left heel, extend the right leg. This time up and over, but I am going to bring my right knee to my right elbow, hovering. Pshewwwwwww. Pressing up and over, sending that right leg back, left heel down. This time I am going to shift weight, twisting to bring my right knee to my left elbow hovering, psheewwwwwww.
Up and over as I extend, and then all the way through and into my lunge. Psewwww. Runner’s lunge, right leg forward. Preparing for high lunge here. I am going to draw my navel into my spine, press into the front foot and extend my back heel. Inhale, reaching the fingertips forward, up and back, lifting in the heart to come all the way up to high lunge. Now, there’s plenty of variations here. We can keep the hands on the waist line for a little more stability here. If I feel like my shoulder, they are cramping in towards my ears, I can open up, flying V. I am going to inhale in here. As I exhale, I am going to draw my heel towards the back wall, really opening up through the left hip crease, peeling my right hip crease back. Now soften through the front rib cage.
Draw your navel in towards your spine. Tuck your pelvis in. Inhale, high lunge. As you exhale, flow your fingertips down and away opening the shoulders. Now, inhale, I am going to bring my belly to my thigh, shifting forward. Inhale, reaching forward, up and back. Exhale, opening by bringing the fingertips slightly behind the hip points. Two more like this, inhale, belly to the thigh, reaching forward, up and back strong in that back leg, exhale, floating the fingertips behind.
Last one, inhale, belly to thigh. Press up and out of your foundation to reach it up, and then exhale floating the fingertips behind. The belly come to the thigh to come down, psheewwwww, one. Fingertips to the mat, two. I plant the palms and step it back downward facing to peddle the feet. Work it out. By now you might notice that your downward dog is starting to feel a little bit different. Maybe creating a little more space, putting more weight on the lower by pressing up and out of the palms, pressing into that fleshy part between the index finger and thumb. Rock your pelvis towards the sky, same thing on the other side, dropping the right heel. Inhale, slide the sole of the left foot up. Inhale in as you exhale, nose to knee. Think up and over the bridge. So I am really drawing my navel in towards my spine here.
Nose to knee. Psewwwww. Inhale, extending, dropping the right heel, and exhale, excuse me left knee to left elbow, pseewwwwwwwwww. Hover, inhale extend and exhale crossing over. Left knee to right elbow, psewwwww. Up an over, extend and then slowly going up and over the hurdle and shifting into my runner’s lunge on the other side. Take a second to check in. Remember building from the ground up. So it’s different for everyone. Hug the inner thighs together. Peel that left hip crease back, and when you’re ready, inhale, reaching the fingertips forward up and back as I come into my high lunge, coming onto the tippy tiptoes here for a second, and then settling in by drawing that back heel towards the back wall, peeling that left hip crease in, tucking the pelvis, drawing the navel in towards the spine. Remember, we can always keep the hands on the waist line here, and just breathe, hugging those thighs together.
To move into our flow we’ll inhale. Reach the fingertips forward up and back, exhale, float them behind, psewwwww ,and here we go, belly to the top of the thigh, extending through the crown of the head as I inhale, extending that back leg towards the back wall, inhale, reach forward, up, and back, lifting the heart, drawing the navel into towards the spine, exhale, float the fingertips behind, psewwwww. Inhale, squeezing those inner thighs together, belly to the top of the thigh as I reach forward, breathe in, up, and back, and exhale floating behind, inhale last time, reaching forward, up, and back and exhale nice and soft in the face as I float the fingertips behind, and then bringing my belly to the thigh part one.
Fingertips to the mat, part two. I am going to rock my back up to meet the front and come into a forward full utinasen. Feet can be flushed together or feet hip width apart. Inhale with your fingertips on the mat, look in front of you, nice, long spine, and then exhale bowing forward, utinasen. If the legs don’t straighten, who cares? Bend them generously. You can bend them back and forth, kind of pausing here for a couple of breaths.
Psewwwwww. [inhale][exhale] For a deeper stretch we can take the hands to the ankles, bend the elbows, left to right, inhale, extend and exhale, bowing forward. So we’re all levels here, so just find what feels good. We’re breathing into the backs of the legs, breathing into the back and still drawing that navel up towards the spine, really drawing the navel in. Inhale in on an exhale will release, psewwwww, and then slowly bending the knees. I will slowly roll up the whole time, drawing my navel in towards my spine, tucking the pelvis in, finding my footing, drawing energy up through the arches of the feet as I come into Tadasana, mountain post, looping the shoulders forward up and back, and then eventually bringing my palms together at the heart, tucking the pelvis in, observing breath here.
Now, I am going to come to the center of my mat just to demonstrate this, but you can stay at the head of your mat. We’re going to inhale in, lift the sternum to the thumbs, tuck your pelvis in. Extend to the crown of the head as you exhale, bend your knees, and slowly, psewwwwww. We’ll reach the fingertips up towards the sky, fingertips left to write as I inhale. I can take the gaze up, palms come together, and then exhale, belly to the thigh as I swan dive forward, belly to the thigh, psweeeewwww. Straighten the legs for one breath, inhale in, and then exhale this time, bend them generously as you scoop your tailbone in, fingertips reach forward up and back upkitasen, just for five breaths, one time only, one time only upkitasen.
So from upkitasen, I have drawn my palms into my heart here. I am going to melt the bell to the thigh, and then I am going to move into a twist. I am actually going to come profile now to show you this. Still working out all these angles, so here we go. Sending my sit bones back, palms together. I am going to inhale, look forward. As I exhale I am going to bring the outer edge of my right arm to the outer edge of my left thigh.
So pancaking the palms together here in Namaste. Outer edge of the right arm comes to the outer edge of the left arm. Now, I am not going to collapse here. This is going to be the tendency, no worries, that’s normal. So I am going to grow through my spine, pressing into the palms, sometimes taking a right fist here, see, and bringing it into the left palm is nice because you can press the left palm up and out of the fist to find that length, see, mmmm. It’s kind of cool too. It makes me feel like much cooler than I am like a ninja or something like.
Mmmmm. Shut up Adriene, okay, here we go. Extending through the crown of the head, palms pancaking together, or using this fist of palm maneuver to extend through the crown of the head. Five, nice, long deep breaths here. Don’t let your belly go here. Draw your navel in towards your spine. Twist really opening the heart towards the left side of the room. Extend through the crown of the head. Now you can see here my right knee is trying to come forward. I am going to see if I can keep my hips in line and knees together here, so I have a lot of things on my checklist here, and as I breathe deep, [inhale] if you go a little bit deeper, I can release the right fingertips to the ground and inhale, open up through the left wing. Psewwww. One more deep breath in here wherever you are, exhale slowly, melt it back to center. Straighten your legs, inhale, look forward, flat back position, and exhale, bending the knees generously, hands to the heart, and I am going to repeat the same thing on the other side.
So inhale, extending forward, exhale, bringing the outer edge of the left arm now to the outer edge of the right leg. I am going to work really hard to keep my knees together here as I pancake the palms, and find my twist. So, I know you can see my back here, but I am going to keep talking. So twists are amazing for the belly. They are detoxifying. They massage those internal organs so they help us process our food better. Extending through the crown of the head I am going to breathe in, exhale, bowing forward. Take a couple of breaths here to just let it go. Pseewwwwwww. So yeah, twists are amazing for our belly. Psewwwww. They tone the belly. They detox. Psewwwwww. And then slowly I am going to walk my palms forward from here. I can bend my knees if I need to, and then nice and easy I am going to step one leg back, downward dog, and the other downward dog, pseewwwwwww.
Taking a minute to rest here. Peddling the feet, and we go through one more hurdle sequence. Inhale in, exhale, think up and over as you shift into your plank. Keep the navel drawing up towards the spine, looking slightly forward, and exhale sending it up on the tippy tip toes, drawing the navel up and back, pseeewwwwww. Two more like that my friends, inhale in. As you exhale, go up and over, shoulders drawing away from the ears here. Psewwwwww. Inhale in, exhale, pressing up and over to come back. Whenever you’re ready inhale, exhale, up and over, last time. Psewwwwww. And this time I am going to practice lowering down, so even if you’re not familiar with chataronga, hug your elbows into the side body, you can always lower your knees here, and I am slowly just check in by slowly lowering down even if I only lower half an inch and collapse and fall and smile and laugh and fart, then that’s great, but I am going to give it a try building those muscles and toning the belly.
So inhale in, shift your weight forward, and whenever you’re ready hugging those elbows in, I am going to slowly lower down my version just checking in, and then whenever I fall into the belly, I do a new laugh, and I take a moment here to rest. Psewwwwwwww. All right, last thing before we flip our burgers, before we flip our pancakes and come flat on the back again, I am going to draw my fingertips now towards my toes, forehead kissing the mat.
Pressing the pelvis into the earth I am going to inhale in, slowly lift my head and neck up, drawing the shoulders away from the ear, shoulder blades in together. Psewwwwww. A little locust series. This is a great, full body strengthener. Great for metabolism. Great for your nervous system. Just in general really wonderful, full body posture. So inhale in as I exhale, I am going to slowly lift my limbs.
Psewwwwwww. Like Mission Impossible so I inhale in and exhale, pseewwwww, I float up. I am drawing my shoulders away from ear, shoulders in and together. I can spread the toes. I can point the toes. I want to have a little awareness in my hands and feet here. I inhale, careful not to crunch the back of the neck, pseeewwwwww, and exhale, inhale, so I am literally letting the breath move this posture. Psweeeeww. I can look forward, or to support the lower back, I can look down, psewwwwwwww, a couple more breaths here. And then exhale and release, psewwwwww, and then I repeat that this time inhaling, reaching the fingertips forward, [inhale], and exhaling psewwwwww, lifting up, Mission Impossible, letting things hover.
Now, I can get a little creative here. I can start to swim. [inhale] Psewwwww. This is a little cheesy, but full body strengthener. I can keep my gaze down, my eyes closed, or I can look forward, pseewwww. I can also just hold here and let my breath be what moves my posture. A couple of more breaths here. When you feel satisfied, gently with grace, with control, release, bringing the palms underneath the shoulders, and pressing up and back for a couple of breaths in child’s pose, counterpose rounding the spine as I send the sit bones back, and then swimming the fingertips forward around the back to come here in balasama. Just a couple of breaths here, psewwwwww. And then slowly I will trace a line with my fingertips up, transition to all fours, cross the left ankle over the right this time as I cross through being mindful of the ankles of course and the knees, using my fingertips and palms to support this transition as I come back through ta, to dandasan, and then shifting my weight to my back, aahhhhhhh.
Once you find your way here, guess what? We have one more thing to do. Ahhhhhhh. We come flat on the back. Once again, we inhale, draw that navel down, scoop the tail bone up, and lift the shins, psewwww up towards the sky. So just as we started our sequence today I am going to inhale. Reach my fingertips up over the head. Interlace the fingertips. Bring them behind. I am creating a little hammock for my head here.
Thumbs extending so that I have a little extra support on the neck. Remember that big piece of fruit here. So I am not crunching here, but I am nice and open. Elbows wide. Here we go, inhale in. As you exhale, lift your head and neck and shoulder if they aren’t already lifted. And on an exhale, I am going to straighten my right leg.
Psewwww, a little bit of a diagonal here. So if you’re looking, if you’re in a room, if you’re not outside and you’re in a room, then you can see the crease of where the wall and the ceiling meet. I am kind of sending my right toes towards that crease. Lots of space, long in the spine, inhale in. As I exhale, I am going to reach both fingertips up and over towards the left side of the room, and this is where I am like holding Symba over the cliff here, so I am not collapsing in, but I am holding Symba out like the circle of life.
So nice, long lines is what I am getting at here. Breathing, navel’s drawing down, table and scooping up. Inhale in, exhale, switch. Point your left toes, bend your right knee in, take Symba over to the other side. Pseewwwww. A couple of breaths here in the circle of life. Then the moves a circle, I am going to regret this, inhale in, exhale, shifting up and over, taking Symba.
I totally just thought of Symba right now. It’s not something I normally say [laughs] in practice, but reaching and then back and forth in your own time, psewwww. So this is the equivalent of like this bicycle thing, but we’re not crunching, we’re keeping it nice and open. So lots of space in the throat, psewwwwwww. Back and forth, diagonal line, bent knee, pseewwwww. Psewwwwww, psewwwwwww. Sometimes in class we take the palms together here Namaste two. And when my breath starts to get compromised is when I can stop this, and then come back to it, or if I am starting to get this crunch then instead of the space, then that’s also a good time to take a rest. When you feel satisfied, we’ll come back to center. We can pulse here just like we did at the beginning of class.
And then hugging the knees into the chest. I will finish with the hedgehog posture, rounding the spine, visualize lots of space between each vertebrae, nose to knee keeping the shoulders and elbows relaxed, so I am tagging a little weight in my elbows here. Hmmmmmmmmm. Then lastly, extending the fingertips to reach towards the outer edges of the feet. I am totally scooping my tailbone up, drawing my navel down, really compressing my belly, rinsing out, massaging those internal organs, psewwwwww, one more breath, and then exhale just as we did before, recline, butterfly. Soles of the feet together. I soften in the belly. I relax through the bowl of the pelvis here. Relax the shoulder blades. Find that open chest. I take a deep breath in, then exhale out through the mouth. Ahhhhhhhhhh. Two more like that, like a lion’s breath inhale.
[inhale] And exhale, completely, psssshhhheeewwww. Last one, full breath, inhale, deeply [inhale], and exhale, let it go, ahhhhhhhhhh. Draw the legs down one at a time, and then take a moment here to rock on the heels psheewwwww, and rest. Hmmmmmmmm. Okay, so that was our first sequence for Yoga for Weight Loss. Just a basic sequence. Do what you can. Build up. Let it be a process rather than, “Oh, I can’t do that, never watching that, and I am going to try it.” Give it a try, remember the beginning stages are always the most difficult, and I am here for you.
Yoga for Weight Loss
