Beginner Yoga & Yoga Nidra

Today we will focus on the breath as we join mind, movement and breathing. You will learn new poses (asanas) with every new practice. Simply follow along and you can repeat the practice until you feel comfortable with it.

This is a beginner Yoga practice that will use breath and movement to bring body and mind into harmony.
This class starts with a little Yoga tip to help you enhance your practice and make it safer.

We end with a long Savasana using Yoga Nidra techniques for deep relaxation.

You can use blocks for your practice and a pillow or blanket for the Savasana at the end.

Transcript

And before we start, I want to share with you some footwork that we will need today for Warrior 1. So instead of having our heels up, For lunge position. We're going to bring the heel down. Angle the foot 45 degrees, Somewhere between 0 and 90. Whatever feels good to you, So that you can bring the heel down. Then when we come back into lunge, We lift the heel back up, Come onto the toe mount. So we start in lunch. And then we change our footwork, Bringing the heel down while turning the foot outwards. Make sure that the outer heel stays on the ground, Outer heel, Outer arch and the big toe mount. And you're having something of an inner arch. Then when you come back into lunge, Turn the foot back up so that the heel is up again. Alright, Let's do this. Enjoy the practice. Come on to your mat. Have a nice day. Stable standing position, Anchor your heels into your mat and just Roll your shoulders. Back and down. And we start with slowing down our breath. So the easiest way to connect with our breasts with our breath is to touch our body. So you can again. Have one hand on your belly, One hand on your chest. And just feel how your body is expanding. On the inhale. And releasing. On the exhale and feel Where? They are areas. Where the breath can go. Where your body can open. Your ribs extend, Your chest lifts. Your sides lengthen. And you can now lift your hands. To your sides, Grabbing your ribcage. Just around the area of your diaphragm and feeling that wonderful movement of our diaphragm. Contracting and releasing. So I would like you to stay connected. With your breath. Throughout the whole practice this might be the most important. For yoga, That we do connect movement. Mind. And the breath. So let's come to the front. Of your mat. Inhale, Lift the arms overhead. Take it slow. And exhale, Release the arms. Just breathing. Inhale. Slow arm movement, Arms overhead. And exhale. Remember to let your shoulders go. Then inhale, Arms come forward. Overhead, Let the shoulders go. And exhale again, Release. Feel how this connection of Breath and movement calms your mind. Now here's one of my favorite twists. The Garuda arms, You come with your right elbow on top of your left. And then interconnect whatever you can. Fingers, Thumbs. Or nothing at all. This is your shoulder. Opener So try and lift the elbows just a little on the inhale. And release on the exhale. Again, Lift the elbows just a little on the inhale. And release on the exhale, Let go. Let's change sides. Inhale. Arms come overhead, Left elbow on top of right elbow. And then see if you can grab. Your fingers. So to close your forearms. And again, Inhale. Lifting the elbows. Just a little And exhale, Let go. Inhale, Lift the elbows, Feel the stretch at the back of your shoulder. Is really nice. Stretch here. And exhale. Letting go. This is one of my favorite stretches as it opens up. The shoulders. The back area where you are tight if you work a lot of for example at the desk with the hands in front of your body. Then release the arms, Roll your shoulders. Let's come into our first sun salutation. Inhale, Arms overhead. Exhale, Bend forward into forward fold. You can use your blocks whenever you need. We come into table top. Upper body parallel to the floor. So get your blocks into position if you want to and then exhale. Release back down into forward fold. Inhale, Bend the knees, Hands flat on the ground, Step back into plank position. Tighten your belly, Pull the navel in. Big inhale, Knees can come down and then exhale. Chest to the floor, Rolling the shoulders back and down, Shoulders in front of your fingers. And come into your first breath. Tiny little cobra. Exhale, Release. Inhale onto knees or forearms. And exhale first downward facing dog. Inhale, Come onto your toe mount. Mobilizing the first toe joint and exhale heels down. Nice. Then inhale, Bend knees, Look forward. And exhale, Walk forward into forward fold. Inhale, We're coming into tabletop, Variation of your liking, With your blocks or not, And exhale, Release back down. Inhale, Bend knees. Exhale, Belly pulls in, Protecting the spine while you roll up. And the arms follow overhead again right elbow on top of your left Garuda on. Interlacing whatever finger can interlace. And lift. Both elbows on the inhale. And release on the exhale. Lifting on the inhale. And releasing on the exhale. Maybe this feels really really good right now. Then exhale, Releasing the arms. Change side, Inhale, Arms overhead, Left elbow on top of your right, Interlacing the fingers. And just stand there enjoying that. Deep stretch at the back of your shoulder. And with these easy exercises, You can. Try to. Calm the breathing down nothing. Two major exciting happening here just now. Some small movement. With the breath. Inhaling, Lifting. And exhaling releasing, Let the arms go. Nice shoulder roll. Feel into the back of your shoulder, Maybe something opened up. And inhale, Arms overhead, Exhale, Bend forward and on your next inhale come into tabletop. Exhale, Release back down. Let your head go. Lengthen the neck and inhale, Bend the knees. Hands flat on the ground, All 10 fingers. And your palm pressing into the ground. Inhale, Knees down. Exhale, Chest towards the floor. Inhale, Try a cobra here, Pulling the shoulders away from the ears and towards the spine. And exhale, Release. Pressing back. And big exhale, Downward facing dog. Inhale, Mobilize your toe joint, Lift. And exhale, Release. Nice, Now move your feet together, Inhale lift the right leg up. Exhale, Bend the knee, Navel pulls in, Step forward into low lunge. And on your next inhale, When you dare, Come up into high lunge, Lifting the chest, Radiating your heart forward. And maybe you want to stay here for starters. Or on your next inhale lift the arms overhead. And if you're really adventurous. Garuda arms, Right elbow on top of your left. So right elbow on top. Same side as the front knee. And with these Garuda arms, You can now try. If you want to, A little extension, Lifting the chest and the elbows. Let it all go. Big exhale, Hands flat on the floor, Stepping back into plank pose. Shoulders come. Forward. Knees down. Exhale, Chest on your mat. Inhale. Cobra from the strength of your lower back. Exhale, Lower down. Inhale all four. And exhale. Down facing dog, Your own rhythm, Inhale onto your toe mounds. Other side, Close your feet, Left leg lifts on the inhale. Exhale, Bend knee. Tuck the navel in and then step forward into low lunge. Now you can stay here in low lunge. If that is enough for you. Second variation, You follow into high lunge, Hands on your knee or thigh. To go further, On your next inhale lift the arms up. And last. Garuda arms left to right. Elbow on top of your right. So here you have the possibility to go into extension lifting the chest. And your elbows up on the inhale. And lowering your hips, Stretching your hip joints. On the exhale. Gets a little wobbly. On top of the head. I'm having my eyes closed. So inhale, Arms overhead, Exhale, Come with your hands on the safe ground, On the safe mat and floor. Come into plank. Inhale, Knees come down, Shift the shoulders forward, Creating space. Exhale, Lowering down. Inhale, Lifting from the strength of your glutes and your lower back. Exhale, Release. Inhale onto all fours. Exhale, Downward facing dog. How are we doing? So let's Come back forward, Inhale, Bend knees, Look forward, March it forward. To yours. Little spot on your mat, Relax the chest down. Inhale your variation of your tabletop pose. And exhale, Release back down. And bend the knees. Pull the navel in, Strong belly, And roll yourself up into standing. Inhaling, Arms come overhead, Shoulders relaxed. And exhale, Let the arms go. Go a little further. So close your feet. This is better for balance. We're coming into chair pose. So inhale, Sit back and down into chair pose. Your knees want to stay behind your toes. And you want to create a long line from your tailbone. All the way to your pinky finger. There's a line there. Great. Keep the chest lifted. Keep breathing. Now we're toning our legs and glutes here a little and then on your next inhale lift and exhale fold forward. Sweet, Sweet. Forward fold, Then inhale tabletop, Hands on blocks or shins and then exhale come back into forward fold. Inhale, Bend knees, Hands flat on the floor, Stepping back into plank. Belly pulls in, Protecting your spine. And then inhale, Knees down, Shoulders move forward. Shoulders move back and down. Next, Inhale, Contract your glutes and your lower back, Lifting. And exhale, Release. Inhale onto all fours. Exhale downward facing dog. Inhale, Mobilizing the toe mound. The toe joint. Exhale, Release back down and step it together. Inhale, Lift the right leg. Exhale, Knee forward, Stepping into low lunge. Wonderful. Let's repeat our high lunge, Garuda arm sequence. So if you didn't dare earlier, You might now. So on the next inhale, Come up. On into high lunge, Lifting the chest. And if you want to. Twist your arms into that shoulder opener, Right elbow on top of your left. And here's your extension if you want to go further. Lifting the elbows the chest on the inhale and yes you can fall and then you just get back into your pose and there is no issue at all we all fall And exhale, Release. Then hands flat on the floor, Stepping back into plank, Navel tucks in. And exhale. Lower down onto the ground, Inhale lifting the chest. Exhale, Release. Inhale, Press up into all fours. We're going to have nice triceps at the end of our 30 days. Back into down dog on the exhale. Lifting onto your toes. The inhale. And exhale, Release. You can already step closer. This is for balance. So that you can lift your left leg on the inhale. Exhale, Bend the knee, Navel comes in, Step forward into low lunge. Hands on the ground first. On the next inhale, Lift into high lunge. Lifting the chest. If you want to go further. Inhale, Arms come up, Circle up. Into the root arms. And this can be wobbly, Especially because our eyes are. Only see your arms. So try either focusing on one spot or as I do here having the eyes closed. Lifting the chest, The arms on the inhale, Going really deep here with the hips on the exhale. And we did it! That was very wobbly but we're here for this. And we're not gonna stop just because we fall. Hands flat on the ground. Stepping back into plank. On your next inhale, Knees come down. Exhale, Press down, Chaturanga on the knees. Inhale lift to cobra and exhale pressing back. Into downward facing dog. Nice, Lifting onto your toes. And release. On the exhale. Then on your next inhale bend knees, Look forward and exhale slowly walk forward. Come into forward fold, Pressing the heels, The outer arches and your big toe mount into the ground. Lifting on the inhale. Into chair, Into tabletop. And exhale, Releasing. Now here comes the chair. On the next inhale, Lifting back up into chair straight away. So you're sitting back and down. Remember, Nice long line from your tailbone. Into your pinky finger. That's it. So we're having tables and we're having chairs. This is very. . . Mundane yoga practice. And inhale, Stand up. Exhale, Release your arms back down. Wonderful. Inhale, Arms come up. And exhale. Slow your breathing down. Next inhale down into chair just for a second, I promise, And on your next inhale Stand up and exhale, Release into forward folds. Again, Your props ready for tabletop. And exhale, Release your hand. Your hair, Your neck. Everything forwards into forward fold. Inhale, Bend the knees, Hands flat on the floor, All 10 fingers press into the ground into plank pose. Pull the navel in, Make sure that your hip bones close a bit. And then inhale, Knee comes down. Shoulders forwards. And exhale back down. Inhale cobra. Exhale release Then inhale, Shift onto the knees. And exhale, Downward facing dog. In your own tempo, Lifting onto your toe mounts. And exhale release. Then inhale lifting the right leg up. Exhale, Bend your knee, Come forward into lunge position. And here's where we need our footwork, Our warrior one footwork. So turn your foot 45 degrees, Heel comes down, Foot turns slightly outward, Heel stays on the ground. And now let's see if you can come up just as we did in lunge, With the chest forward, The arms coming up. You might not. Be able to come as deep, But that doesn't matter. Just be aware that the foot doesn't hurt, That you have no pain in either the knee or your ankle of your back left foot. So this was your first warrior one. Then turn your ankle, Your heel back up, Come back into low lunge, Stepping back into plank. Wow. There we are. Lower down. Chaturanga, Inhale, Chest comes up. Exhale down, Inhale come onto all fours and exhale press it back into downward facing dog. Ready for round number two? Inhale lifting the left leg up. Exhale, Bend the knee, Step the leg forward into low lunge. Now here comes your footwork. Turn the foot 45 degrees out, Heel down, Outer arches are down. And now see if you can lift your arms. And lift the chest. This might feel weird. But don't worry, This feels weird for everyone. But it's a great game. Hip stretch. It's a deep hip flexor stretch and if you have pain in your ankle or your knee, Just Try out different variations of degree in your foot or just turn your foot back into your lunge foot. Then release back into plank, Knees down, Exhale, Lower down. And inhale, Lifting the chest. Exhale, Release. Inhale, Come up. Onto all fours and exhale, Press it down into downward facing dog. Inhale, Lift onto your toe mounds. Check if your feet are still there. And release back down. Shall we have one more go? Inhale, Lift the right leg up. Exhale, Step it forward. Come into lunge position. Now again, Watch your back foot. Turn the foot out, Just so you can bring your heel down. And then inhale, Come up with your hands, Your upper body. Into warrior one. Grade 1. You will own this at the end of the 30 days, Don't worry. Exhale, Release back down, Hands flat on the ground, All 10 fingers. Stepping back into plank, Inhale, Knees down. Exhale, Chaturanga. Inhale your version of a little baby cobra. Then exhale down. Inhale onto your knees. And exhale pressing into downward facing dog. Change sides. Last warrior pose, I promise. Inhale lifting the left leg, Exhale knee comes forward. Now your footwork. Watch your back foot, Twist the foot, Make sure everything is fine and comfy. Your back heel comes down your back arch and now your upper body and your arms are lifting, Your chest is radiating forward. Into that deep hip stretch. Now try a little smile. Because we're gonna. . . Come down on the floor in a second, Then exhale, Release, Twist the foot back into your lunge foot. Step back into plank, Exhale, Lower down. Inhale, Slide back bend, Chest up. Whatever feels comfortable and you can hold from your glutes and your lower back. And then exhale back into down dog. Nice. No, We're not gonna. Come back up into standing, Simply inhale, Look forward. And on whatever way possible, Come into sitting, Bring the feet forward. And. . . Please. Your hands. Into your body. Back thigh coming into boat pose. Little boat pose here. Feet stay on the ground. We're just releasing our hands just as much as you can. Lift the chest, Keep your back straight, Really pressing your sitting bones into your mat. While you're lifting your chest up. And then pull yourself back up. Wonderful. Rounding your back. Releasing back down. And we're already winding down. Wonderful. So bring your feet next to your pelvis, Feet are parallel, Then inhale, Bring your hips up. And exhale, Release down. Just a slow movement. Now this is a really easy movement. You can use this to connect back with your breath. Connecting movement. And breath, Inhaling up. Ends. Exhaling down if you feel like it, Stay up. Into that little back bend. Maybe even crawl onto the back of your shoulder. The back of your arms. Can interlace your fingers giving you more strength, More stability. And slow your breathing down even more. I know this was exciting. But we're now going. To wind down and Almost. Come into our last and final relaxation. And hug your knees. We're gonna finish with an inversion. So you can keep your shoulders, Your head on the ground, Just bring your feet above your hips. And this doesn't need to look nice or straight. Just release all the muscles. In your legs so that your blood can flow freely. From your leg. Towards your upper body, Your chest, Your heart. And be replenished. With oxygen. If you like it, Come into shoulder. Stand. The weight of your hip going into your elbows. And shoulders, Not your neck or head. Still releasing all muscles in your legs. Breathing slowly. And then Take your time. Come back down. Roll yourself in whatever way back onto the mat. Stretching the left leg out, Hugging the right knee in. And switch hugging your left knee. Stretching the right leg out. And that was your last asana. We come into Savasana, Cobb's Pose. Will we? Just integrate. What just happened. On the mat. The body. Mind. Or breath. And let that sink in. You can set an intention for your Savasana practice. In yoga nidra we call this the Sankalpa, Which is a positive short sentence that we can use to shift our life. Our intention. The direction of our life in a positive way. So take a few moments now. To set the Sankalpa for your Shavasana practice. Now imagine yourself standing in a forest. A lush, Forest. All around you there's green And you can feel the fresh air that's full of oxygen. You feel really alive and also connected. With the trees and the beings in the forest. You walk towards. A tall and old tree. Standing on a little clearing. The clearing is setting the stage for this grant. Tree. And you're just standing there. Breathing. The air full of life-giving oxygen deep into your lungs. Breathing in through the nose. Slowly and calmly. And breathing out through your mouth. Bye. Breathing in through your nose. Bye. And now out again through the nose. Okay. Now try and keep your mouth closed. And just breathe air through both nostrils. Imagine connecting. With the tree. Through the air, Through the nostrils. Deep into your lungs. Where the air nourishes your body. Gives your body energy. And how you can Release. The air back to. This wonderful tree. So what we exhale, The CO2, Is what the tree needs to grow. As we stand there in front of this beautiful grand tree. And breathe. We exchange. Particles we exchange air. The tree needs us. And we need the tree. And in your mind you can walk. Towards that tree and give that tree a big hug. Connecting your heart. With that massive tree trunk. Just repeating the words. Thank you. In your mind. Okay. Keep breathing deeply, Taking the air in through the nose. Slowly, Deeply into the belly. The chest and the sides of your lungs. And releasing everything back out. And giving back. Now while you practice this deep breathing, Count slowly from one to five on the inhale. And slowly from one to five on the exhale. Continue breathing in this way. Feel the gentle rise and fall of your chest. And belly. The expansion of your sides. And again express Gratitude. For what we receive. Now repeat your resolution. Once again. In your mind as we come. To the end of our relaxation. And also while you are. Repeating your resolution. Again express gratitude. For this life-giving energy that we receive every day. Every second. And realize where you are. On your mat, Practicing. Yoga. Feel. The points where you are touching the mat. And start to slowly Come back. Start to move your arms and hands, Wiggle your toes. Move your fingers. And come back onto your mat, Open your eyes. Neither. Turn onto one side and press up or grab one knee and roll up. And get back into sitting in whatever way you want to. Then inhale, Arms overhead, Connect your palms. Bring your thumbs to your forehead. To your chin. And to your heart center. Thank you so much for joining. Have a wonderful day.