Yoga For Beginners At Home (15 minute Class) 30 Day Challenge Day 4

Hello , it's Leslie Fightmaster .

Welcome to day four of our 30 days of yoga .

It is still a little bit chilly .

So I got my big puffy vest on .

So we're gonna start on our backs today .

So getting comfortable , I have two yoga blocks today and I encourage you to get yoga blocks if you don't have any .

Um I'll try to leave a link below about where you can find some .

So beginning we'll extend the legs out in just kind of a nice Shana style pause and just recheck in with our breath .

So hands on ribs or belly feeling the breath expand on the inhale contract on the exhale .

So just check your belly , your ribs , you can check all the way up into the chest to make sure that your breath is going all the way up there .

Nice full breaths with that slight constriction in the back of the throat .

And then we'll hug the knees in gently rocking side to side , which gives our low back a little massage .

And now right into a new pose .

Happy baby .

Take the pinky toe side of the feet , the knees are bent , drawing the knees toward the armpits .

If you can't reach your feet , hold on somewhere on your shins .

Now lengthen the tailbone toward the floor , it's gonna to lengthen the spine .

It's a nice little hip opening .

Take another breath here .

Let your shoulder blades relax and then hug the knees in feet to the floor .

It's gonna roll off to the right side and with your left hand , press up to seat it and then onto our hands and knees , wrists on our shoulders and knees and hips .

Let's warm up with some cat and cow inhale .

Bring the chest forward , lift the chin and tailbone up , exhale around the back , chin toward chest , pull in the ribs and the belly inhale , chest comes forward wide and across the collar bones .

Exhale around in the back .

There is a lot of repetition in our postures because that's the way our bodies learn .

Inhale , chest forward , chin and tail up , exhale and round our bodies have muscle memories .

The more we practice these postures , the easier they become our body is like , oh yeah , I know that one .

I'm used to it .

Inhale , chest forward , widen across the collar bones .

Exhale and round the back then hips toward heels , child's post .

Remember your hips might not go all the way back to the heels .

It's back as far as you comfortably can and then extend the arms forward .

We want straight arms .

I walk the hands to the right and shi the hips over to the left , stretching the left side body .

So it's nice to move the spine in this direction as well .

Inhale , center exhale , walk the hands to the left , shifting the hips gently to the right , stretching through the right side body and then back to center arms extended in front .

So we could come up onto the knees today .

Turn your inner elbows toward the front of the mat so they move , they can move forward or back , turn them toward the front , a little extra weight in the thumb and first finger side of the hand and then start to move into down dogs .

So as if you could continue to turn your inner elbows toward the front of the mat , you can't , but that's the action .

Now start to bicycle the legs .

So the action is the outer upper arms , the triceps , spin back , the inner upper arms , the biceps , spin forward , start to bend one knee and the other .

Remember we want length in the spine and then I'll take the knees down and rest .

You rest your head on the mat or on your hands if you like take a long breath here and then again , spread the fingers and turn the inner Ellas again toward the front , tuck the toes under , keeping that action as if you could continue to turn them to the front , make your way into down dog and then start to straighten the legs any amount .

So we're gonna pull the belly in , stretching the weight here up to the hips , reaching it down toward the heels .

If you can straighten your legs , make sure to firm your quadri muscles pull up on the kneecaps , spin your inner thighs back .

Breathing here .

Always , always checking in with the breath .

Fingers are spread wide and then back to the knees to rest .

So when down dog , our arms , our shoulders distance apart and our feet are hips with unless we're doing some other variation , but mostly that's the foundation of the post .

And let's take another breath here resting .

And then once again , reach the arms forward , spread the fingers wide .

Now remember a little extra weight into the thumb and first finger side of the hand , turn the inner elbows forward up onto the knees downward , facing dog tuck , the toes lift up and back .

So the inner thighs are spinning back as if you're holding a block between your inner thighs , which I think we will do today .

Continue breathing gaze between your knees .

You always want to have a nice steady point to look at so that your , your eyes aren't darting all around .

Just a nice steady gazing point and then look up , bend the knees , walk your feet up to the hands and then inhale , come halfway up , hands to shins or above the knees or fingertips on the floor .

Exhale , fold hands may or may not touch , bend the knees as needed .

Inhale , press for the feet , sweep the arms out around and up .

Now , triceps will spin forward and exhale means steady balance .

Speaking of , let's find our feet are together or hips with , make sure the outer edges of the feet are parallel .

So the toes will point in just a tiny bit toward each other .

And then from the legs spin the inner thighs back , tail bone lengthens down , belly pulls up , widen the collar bones , shoulder blades draw down toward the waist .

Inhale , sweep the arms out around and up , being careful that the rib cage isn't popping out .

Exhale , arms back down and we'll do that a couple of times , a quarter sun salute .

Inhale , sweep the arms out around and up .

Look up if it's ok on your neck , but make sure you're not arching your back and you can have your arms go more forward if the back arches or arms out wider .

Exhale , bring the arms down .

So as you inhale , sweep the arms up the palms face up and you come to the top , make sure your shoulders relax a little .

They're not bunched up around the ears .

Exhale the palms face down as the arms come down .

And once again , inhale , reach up , make sure you're not arching exhale hinge from your hips forward , folding .

So extend through the spine , keep the length , bend the knees as much as you need to just keep the length in the spine .

It's better than rounding your back a whole bunch .

Inhale halfway up , hands to shins or thighs and then exhale , fold .

If your hands aren't touching the floor , you can rest them on your legs , hands to hips with a long spine .

Come on up , then sweep the arms up again and then exhale , bring the hands to the heart .

Inhale , sweep the arms out around and up , look up , exhale hinge from the hips to come back .

So hip creases is where you're moving from hands , come down to the legs or the floor inhale , come halfway up , hands to shins or above the thigh or above the knees onto the thighs and exhale folds , keeping the spine as long as you can inhale hands to hips , little bend in the knee , come up with a long spine and then sweep the arms out around and up for and exhale .

That's a half sun salute or half a mascara .

Now turn to the long side of your mat and then turn your right leg all the way out and your back toes in a little line up your front heel with your back arch and take your arms out to a tet .

Your wrist should be about right above your ankles and then bend the knee over the ankle .

Make sure the knee and ankle line up in your right leg .

It's super important to keep the knee straight and then inhale straight in the front leg stretch up , look up , then exhale , bend and this is called Warrior two .

The front hips dropping down , you'll gaze over the front fingertips .

The knee is opening a little toward the pinky toe side of the foot .

So it lines up with the middle toes .

Inhale straight in the leg , reaching up and exhale again into Warrior two veroa two .

We're going to take your right hand to the inner thigh , brush it to the inner knee , making sure the knee is right over the middle toes , then brush it behind .

Take it to the top of your hip and lengthen that hip down to your left hand to the inner back thigh and lift that up , press weight into the front heel and through the outer edge of the back foot , arms are in line with each other .

Lift the chest , inhale , straighten the leg , take your feet to parallel and now left leg all the way out , back toes in .

Make sure you're lined up front heel with back arch , take the arms up , inhale , bend the left knee as you exhale Warrior two and make sure the knee doesn't drift in .

We want it moving open knee over the ankle .

Super important .

So take some time to make sure look at your body .

Make sure inhale , straighten the leg , reach up ax hall , bend the knee over the ankle , make shirts in line with your middle toes .

Inhale and we'll stir right in that front leg , reaching the arms up and exhale .

Bend the knee or , or two with your left hand , brush it from the inner thigh through the inner knee , making sure the knee is over the middle toes , then take it to the top of your left hip , drop that hip down toward the floor .

Take your right hand to the inner back thigh and lift it up and then gaze over the fingertips , press for the outer edge of the back foot and through the front heel breathing .

So eventually the front thigh will become parallel with the floor .

That's where we're moving .

But there's no hurry .

Take the feet to parallel and then step your feet back together and come back to the front of your mat back into , to do a post inhale and sweep your arms up , exhale , fold forward with a long spine hinging at the hips on the inhale halfway up , hands to shins or above the legs or fingertips to floor bend the knees , gonna step all the way back into downward facing dog arms , shoulders , distance feet , hips width , spread the fingers press into the base of the fingers .

Lift up through your forms .

See if you can turn the outer upper arms back and then down to the knees and move off to one side so that you can lie onto your back again .

So roll all the way down , draw the knees into the chest and gently rock , then take the arms out to the sides , drop your knees off to the left , look over your right shoulder and twist long breaths here , inhale knees to center and exhale .

Take them over to the right and look over your left shoulder .

Now , remember if it bothers your neck to look to the opposite side , then you don't have to even look straight up instead .

And then let's come on back to center .

We'll make our way into our final resting post .

I remember it's important to take a little time for this posture .

So relax feet flop , open arms by your sides , palms up , feel free to bend the knees if you have any discomfort in your lower back and then just rest .

Gosh , you resting .

Just a little more about yoga .

This is from the yoga sutras .

It's an ancient text talking all about yoga and the quote is the restraint of the modifications of the mind stuff is yoga .

So basically , what it's saying is when we practice yoga , all the fluctuations of the mind , all the jumping from thought to thought , it just relaxes and calms down .

So I hope you're experiencing a little of that and they'll start to stretch out as we come back to the breath .

Once again , bend the knees , roll off to your right side .

Pausing here for gratitude for all of our blessings .

Always , always a great idea to remember to be grateful and then come on up .

I know I'm sounding like one of those tree huggers , aren't I ?

So come sit nice and tall .

Bring the hands together in front of the heart , hands to forehead , reminding us to have clear and loving thoughts , hands to hearts , reminding us to have clear and loving intentions , hands to the mouth , to remind us to have clear and loving communications , sending out wonderful energy to all beings everywhere .

No must stay bowing forward any amount .

Thank you so much for joining me today .

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow .

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