Yoga for Beginners - Upper Body Strength _ Day 1 EMBARK Breathe and Flow Yoga Program

Hey Yogis , welcome to class .

Today is day one of our beginner program .

So if you're stumbling across this video and you came here , then please back up one step , check out day zero video so you can get an overview of what this program is about .

So once you've watched that , then you understand where we're headed with this today is gonna be focused on upper body strength .

We don't need any props today .

All you need is a yoga mat .

And if you don't even have that , you can also just practice on the floor .

So whenever you're ready to begin , let's start in a comfortable cross legged seated position .

Once you're there , place your hands on your knees , close down the eyes , take a deep breath in a little bit taller .

Feel your web cage expand and exhale , gently release , relax the shoulder blades down the back .

Continue to take those slow deep breaths as you start to relax into this space , letting go of any expectations you have around this program or around what you're going to be able to do in your body , what poses you're going to achieve .

All of that is secondary .

It's not nearly as important as keeping your attention on the breath .

So I encourage you to focus even more on the breath , will guide you through everything and you can always modify poses and take variations to make the practice work for you .

We're all coming from different places in our bodies in our past physical levels or injuries .

So it's really important to move within the constructs and the limits of your own body .

This practice of yoga can be so incredibly healing , but that's all rooted from focusing on the breath .

Let's start to connect our breath with some movements .

So you can blink , open your eyes , reach both arms out to your sides and then big inhale arms reach up overhead palms , touch at the top and exhale hands come down through the heart again .

Big circle , reach the arms out , inhale arms , reach palms , touch at the top .

Exhale hands come down through the heart .

Big and hell .

Arms reach , let's do three more nice and slow .

You're filling up the lungs , you're extending and reaching your arms out as much as you can .

One more inhale arms , reach palms , touch and exhale hands back down to the heart .

Release the hands down to the mat .

Start to walk your hands forward , let the chest hang down , feel a little stretch in the hips , maybe the low back , just a couple of deep breaths here , walk your hands back towards your legs and then you're gonna switch the legs .

So whatever leg was in front , you're gonna bring it to the back and then again , walk the hands forward , lower the chest down towards the ground .

So for flo and I , we've been practicing yoga for a few years now .

And so this pose is probably going to look different in our bodies than it does for you .

As with every pose , it's going to look a little different .

So it's really important that you just move within your own body .

Don't worry about how low or how deep you can go .

The flexibility will come over time .

Last breath here , start to walk your hands back towards your legs and then shift the legs off to one side .

We're gonna meet in a table top .

However you get there is great .

We'll start with a wrist warm up .

So spread the fingers wide , the fingertips point towards the top of your mat and then just start to shift forward , come up over the wrist , over the knuckles or over the fingers , try not to dip the hips too low .

Send it back towards the heels again , reach forward , come forward and back .

Just a few more times .

Just waking up the wrist joint .

We put a lot of weight on the wrist throughout a yoga class .

So we want to make sure that it's stretched out .

There shouldn't be any feelings of pain or numbness or tingling .

None of that .

You're just going to your own end range in the wrist .

Nothing beyond great job .

We meet back in that neutral spine and then you're gonna reach your right arm straight up to the sky and then exhale right hand back down to the mat .

Left arm reaches up to the sky and exhale left hand back down , continue to switch in her right arm to the sky and exhale hand down .

And as you're finding this movement , you're really connecting your movement with your breath .

So you inhale to length and to expand and you exhale , release to ground .

So a little bit of a twist , waking up the shoulders , the back beautiful job .

Last one in her left arm to the sky and exhale left hand back down .

We meet back in that table top and then from here start to sink the chest down towards the ground .

So the shoulder blades are going to come together as if they're kissing on your back and then begin to push the ground away .

So you round and dome the upper back and then again , lower the chest down and then press it back up two more slowly , lower down , press it up .

Last one , press it up .

Great job back to that neutral spine , tuck the toes under .

And then we meet in a downward dog .

So start to lift the knees up , keep both knees bent for now , spread your fingers wide and start to pull your chest closer to your quads .

You're really working on , opening up the shoulders .

Don't worry so much .

If the heels don't touch the ground , it's not nearly as important as trying to get that straight line from your wrist to your hips .

So keep the arm straight , continue to push the ground away and then press even more with the fingertips , grip into the mat as well as the inside part of your hand .

So that base of the index finger , base of the thumb .

So it takes the weight off the outside cartilage of the wrist .

You can paddle out the legs one leg at a time and then find some stillness in your downward dog .

So to inhale , lift the heels as you bend the knees and then walk the feet to the top of the map .

Taking in her halfway lift to lengthen and exhale forward fold .

We're here for a few breaths in this forward fold again , maybe paddle the legs , sway the hips or the chest .

Great job .

Take an inhale halfway .

Lift the hands come to the shins and exhale forward , fold , soft , bend in the knees as you roll up all the way to standing one vertebra at a time .

Arms reach up overhead palms , touch at the top and exhale forward , fold in hell , halfway lift and exhale .

Place the hands as you step your left foot to the back of the mat , low lunch gently set down the left knee untucked , the left toes in her arms rise to the sky as you exhale , start to shift your hips forward and down and then see if you can engage the core a little bit more cinch in the ribs to reduce a deep back bend and then send all the energy out the fingertips .

So the biceps are close to the ears and come right back to that breath slowly in hell and slowly exhale .

You're doing great as you exhale , hands come down to frame the right foot and then step the right foot back .

We meet in a table top .

Now tuck the toes under and then lift the knees for high plank .

So again , the shoulders are over the wrist , tuck , the tailbone under the hips are about the same height as the shoulders .

And then you're doming the upper back .

It's just like we did at the beginning .

So instead of letting your chest collapse down towards the ground , really push the ground away and lift up last breath here , shift forward , come up high on the toes and then set the knees down , lower all the way down to the ground and then inhale baby cobra .

So the chest lifts off , the hands , lift off just an inch above the ground .

So you're really using the muscles in your back to keep your chest lifted and exhale lower down and how lift it up , exhale lower one more time , inhale , lift and exhale lower , press the hips back to the heels for child's pose , walk the fingertips forward , find that length in the back as you inhale , feel your belly press into your thighs and as you exhale , melt the chest down towards the ground , just one more breath here , start to shift forward as you lift the hips and then begin to bend the arms for Teranga , keep the knees down .

So is when you're lowering down , halfway , the shoulders do not come lower than the elbows and then send the hips back child's pose .

Let's do two more of those in hell .

Shift forward , bend the arms , the elbows graze the rib cage , send it back one more time , shift it forward , lower down as far as you can without letting the shoulders come lower than the elbows .

Send it back .

Child's posts beautiful .

Lift the hips , tuck the toes downward .

Dog start to straighten the legs to any degree .

Take a moment to reconnect with your breath , slow it down and he'll lift the heels as you bend the knees , walk to the top of the mat in hell .

Halfway .

Lift to lengthen and excel fold , bend the knees as you roll up one vertebra at a time all the way to standing palms , touch and exhale forward , fold in how halfway looked .

Exhale up your right foot to the back of the map .

Low lunch , gently sat down the right knee and tucked the toes in her arms .

Rice .

So if you need a little bit more stability here in this low lunge , you can just heel toe , your left foot to the left one or two inches .

It just creates a little bit more surface area for your body .

You always want to feel stable in every pose .

Continue to reach the hands up towards the sky .

The arms are straight .

The cop is engaged last breath here and exhale hands come down as you frame the left foot , come back to that table top and then tuck the toes under , lift the knees high plank .

We're here for three breaths .

So make it good .

Push the ground away .

Tuck the tail bone under the quads are engaged .

The gaze is straight down towards the ground .

Start to shift forward , come up high on the toes gently set down the knees and then lower all the way down to the mat .

Just one breath in baby cobra as you inhale , lift up , chest lifts off , exhale , lower down , press the hips back to the heels .

Child's post two breaths here and again , lift the hips start to reach forward as we come down for that chatter .

Keep the knees down , push it right back up .

Child's post in how forward a lower down chat .

So these sort of half push ups , send it back hips to the heels , child's post .

Last one , send it forward , lower down , press it back , child's post .

Great job .

Start to lift the hips .

Tuck the toes we meet in downward dog in how lift the heels , bend the knees , walk to the top of your map .

We meet in a forward fold in until halfway lift and el fold and how come all the way up to standing palms , touch and excel forward , fold in hell , halfway lift .

And as you exhale , you're gonna start to bend the knees and come into a seat so you can use your hands to get there .

We're gonna come into a post called reverse tabletop .

So your feet are about hip distance apart , maybe even a little bit wider .

The hands come behind you .

So the fingertips point towards the hips and then start to lift the hips up .

So you're engaging the glutes , you're really lifting the hips and then slowly set the hips back down this time , bring them a little bit closer to the heels .

We'll do a little shoulder stretch here .

So inhale , start to lift the chest and exhale , maybe bend the elbows just a little bit towards the back of the mat .

Doesn't take much inhale , lift and excel bend .

Take a few more of these deep breaths on your own , maybe even close your eyes here and just feel your way into the stretch .

What we're focusing on here is stretching the front side of the shoulders , the anterior deltoid muscle .

So it's pretty easy to target this stretch quickly .

So I try not to overdo it nice and easy .

Last breath here .

Exhale , start to walk your hands forward , cross the ankles , come back into that seated , simple cross legged position .

So now we've finished the portion of the movements in the body , the Asan .

And now we're gonna be doing a breath work exercise called um , this one in particular is .

So for this , if you had your eyes closed , you can open your eyes , you can follow along here , but we'll begin by using the right hand only .

So the left hand can just stay on the left knee .

So with the piece fingers of your right hand , you're gonna place them at your third eye , your center of your forehead between your eyebrows .

And then we're only going to be rotating between our right thumb and our right ring finger and we're gonna be plugging uh our right and left nostrils with the two fingers .

So that's it .

I'll guide you through the breath .

So place the piece fingers at the forehead .

We'll begin by exhaling all the air out .

We're only going to breathe through the nose to keep the lips sealed at the bottom of the exhale .

Plug the right nostril with the right thumb .

Take an inhale through the left nostril at the top of the inhale , plug the left nostril and open the right exhale through the right .

Stay here in hell through the right .

Switch the fingers and exhale through the left .

Stay here and hell through the left at the top of the intel switch , open up the right .

So you're taking a full exhale and inhale on each side and then you switch at the top of the inhale and that's it .

So just keep the breath going , try to let the breath just move naturally .

So you're not forcing it , relax the muscles and the shoulders in the face and just put all of your attention on each breath .

Notice how cool it feels when it comes in through your nose , how warm it feels when it exits your body .

What we're doing here in Nadi and now as we're balancing the energy on the left and right side bodies , there's a lot of science that goes into it .

But the only thing you need to focus on now is one breath at a time .

You'll do one more round of breath on your own and then you're gonna finish when you exhale through the left .

So take your time to get there .

No rush .

Once you've finished , you can place both hands back down on your knees , sit nice and tall .

Maybe you already notice a difference in the breath .

You can breathe a little bit easier through both sides .

So we'll be here in this seated meditation for just a few minutes before we come into Shiva , our final pose of practice .

So the goal of meditation is not really to control your thoughts .

Instead , it's to become a witness to them to do that .

You step into the present moment .

So we use the breath as an anchor .

We focus fully on each in and each exhale and it probably won't take long for the mind to begin to wander into the future or into the past .

That's perfectly normal .

That's what the brain is sort of designed to do .

But that moment that you sort of catch yourself that you've been stepping outside of the present by thinking about the past or the future .

That's a really important moment in your meditation practice because you right then get to choose to treat yourself with kindness with love as you let that thought go and you focus right back on the breath .

So this might happen dozens and dozens of times throughout your meditation practice where you're catching yourself , you're training your attention to become present .

So it's fine .

Don't worry about how often the mind wanders .

What's important is how much love you give yourself when you pull it back to the present .

So I'll let you go here on your own for just about one minute .

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Let it go .

You could either stay here in this seated position or if you'd like to join us in for our final pose of practice .

You're welcome to is just where you're laying on your back .

So you can make your way there , extend your legs out your feet naturally fall open , the hands come down at your sides with every exhale , you're just releasing any tension that you're still holding in your body .

You're allowing yourself the opportunity to sort of melts into mother earth .

You've moved your body and many different poses and directions .

And now your only task is to relax .

Surrender to what is as you are in this moment , becoming the witness to your beautiful body , to your powerful breath .

So continue to focus your attention on one in hell and one exhale at a time and that's it .

You're just in hell , exhale and repeat .

We recommend that you stay here in Shabana for at least a few minutes .

So you can really integrate the practice into your body and your mind .

But we'll be ending the video here .

Thank you so much for joining us for this practice for maybe trying something new exploring something new .

We believe this is the beginning of a beautiful journey for you .

And we are so grateful that you're here sharing the experience with us .

So you should really be so proud of yourself .

We're incredibly proud of you and we'll see you in tomorrow's video for day two with love and gratitude .

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