1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,099 (upbeat music) 2 00:00:11,639 --> 00:00:14,212 Ok, so for Warrior I, Virabhadrasana I, 3 00:00:14,212 --> 00:00:17,162 we're going to begin in the Runner's Lunge. 4 00:00:17,162 --> 00:00:19,428 If you are new to Runner's Lunge, 5 00:00:19,428 --> 00:00:20,381 we have a video for that. 6 00:00:20,381 --> 00:00:24,461 You can learn it with us and then come back to Warrior I. 7 00:00:24,461 --> 00:00:26,455 So, here I am in my Runner's Lunge. 8 00:00:26,455 --> 00:00:29,054 I'm making sure that I'm on two parallel lines, 9 00:00:29,054 --> 00:00:30,994 rather than one tight rope. 10 00:00:30,994 --> 00:00:34,191 And from here I'll inhale, radiate the heart forward. 11 00:00:34,191 --> 00:00:37,513 Exhale, just stretch the front of the right hip crease. 12 00:00:37,513 --> 00:00:39,166 Coming into my Runner's Lunge, okay, 13 00:00:39,166 --> 00:00:41,612 and now prepping for Warrior I. 14 00:00:41,612 --> 00:00:43,531 I'm going to take my back foot 15 00:00:43,531 --> 00:00:47,171 and I'm going to plant the entire foot on the mat. 16 00:00:47,171 --> 00:00:50,335 In this case I'm pressing into my right heel 17 00:00:50,335 --> 00:00:52,264 and my right toes are pointed 18 00:00:52,264 --> 00:00:53,899 towards the front right corner of the mat 19 00:00:53,899 --> 00:00:57,643 or the front right corner of the room. Okay. 20 00:00:57,643 --> 00:00:59,251 I'm going to really pay attention 21 00:00:59,251 --> 00:01:00,818 to the outer edge of that back foot, 22 00:01:00,818 --> 00:01:01,786 so none of this. 23 00:01:01,786 --> 00:01:03,839 That's horrible on the knee. 24 00:01:03,839 --> 00:01:06,020 We're gonna spread through the pinky toe, 25 00:01:06,020 --> 00:01:07,705 pressing into the outer edge of the foot 26 00:01:07,705 --> 00:01:09,793 and then just like I do in my Mountain Pose, 27 00:01:09,793 --> 00:01:11,260 or my Tadasana, 28 00:01:11,260 --> 00:01:13,660 I'm going to press into the foundation 29 00:01:13,660 --> 00:01:15,712 and then draw energy up from there. 30 00:01:15,712 --> 00:01:19,550 So, no loosey goosey, but really pressing into the mat, 31 00:01:19,550 --> 00:01:22,764 and then drawing up through the leg, lifting the knee cap, 32 00:01:22,764 --> 00:01:24,236 toning the quadricep here 33 00:01:24,236 --> 00:01:26,405 as I lift it all the way up to the hip. 34 00:01:26,405 --> 00:01:27,545 Same thing in the front leg. 35 00:01:27,545 --> 00:01:29,855 Pressing through all four corners of the feet. 36 00:01:29,855 --> 00:01:31,585 I know from my Runner's Lunge, that I stack my knee 37 00:01:31,585 --> 00:01:34,486 directly above the ankle. 38 00:01:34,486 --> 00:01:35,686 And then here I am, ready. 39 00:01:35,686 --> 00:01:37,876 I'm really pressing into my foundation. 40 00:01:37,876 --> 00:01:40,617 I'm drawing energy up through both legs here. Right? 41 00:01:40,617 --> 00:01:42,858 Working with integrity. Working from the ground up, 42 00:01:42,858 --> 00:01:45,170 which is a great, great note for beginners. 43 00:01:45,170 --> 00:01:48,572 There's no rush. Take your time. Work from the ground up. 44 00:01:48,572 --> 00:01:51,202 Find what feels good. I'm pressing in. 45 00:01:51,202 --> 00:01:52,773 From here, for a beginner, I recommend 46 00:01:52,773 --> 00:01:54,061 hooking the thumbs behind, 47 00:01:54,061 --> 00:01:55,597 taking the hands to the waist line, 48 00:01:55,597 --> 00:01:57,510 pressing into your foundation, we'll inhale. 49 00:01:57,510 --> 00:01:59,864 Roll the shoulders forward, up and back 50 00:01:59,864 --> 00:02:03,053 and then let that movement allow the heart to lift up, 51 00:02:03,053 --> 00:02:07,787 as we come into our standing posture, Warrior I. 52 00:02:07,787 --> 00:02:09,647 Lot's of action points here. 53 00:02:09,647 --> 00:02:14,172 This pose is a beginner's pose, a foundational pose, but, 54 00:02:14,172 --> 00:02:17,194 I'm always cracking jokes that this pose is challenging. 55 00:02:17,194 --> 00:02:19,846 This is hard. So, be kind. 56 00:02:19,846 --> 00:02:21,859 No toxic thoughts. Just take your time. 57 00:02:21,859 --> 00:02:23,365 My legs are working super hard here. 58 00:02:23,365 --> 00:02:26,333 I'm breathing into the front of my right hip crease. 59 00:02:26,333 --> 00:02:28,242 I can take that thumb, that left thumb, 60 00:02:28,242 --> 00:02:30,681 and peel that left hip crease back. 61 00:02:30,681 --> 00:02:33,745 Slowly encouraging my hips to come square off. 62 00:02:33,745 --> 00:02:35,538 Now remember I'm not on a right rope. 63 00:02:35,538 --> 00:02:37,274 For beginners, you might want to take your left toes 64 00:02:37,274 --> 00:02:39,039 and your left heel and walk them out a little bit. 65 00:02:39,039 --> 00:02:41,723 Just give yourself a little space. 66 00:02:41,723 --> 00:02:45,438 Okay. I'm also going to take my hands, the power of touch, 67 00:02:46,131 --> 00:02:49,186 ♫The power of touch...love...touch♫ 68 00:02:49,186 --> 00:02:51,480 Taking my hands to my rib cage, 69 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:53,900 I'm going to soften them down. 70 00:02:53,900 --> 00:02:56,152 And then just sometimes, I literally take my belly, 71 00:02:56,152 --> 00:02:59,692 my gut, and just use my hands to 72 00:02:59,692 --> 00:03:01,476 move it in the right direction. 73 00:03:01,476 --> 00:03:04,261 This takes time, okay. The hips won't square at first. 74 00:03:04,261 --> 00:03:07,323 They might. But this takes time, so breathe, 75 00:03:07,323 --> 00:03:09,151 and don't stop paying attention to the 76 00:03:09,151 --> 00:03:10,374 outer edge of that back foot. 77 00:03:10,374 --> 00:03:12,559 Pressing into that back heel. 78 00:03:12,559 --> 00:03:15,208 My whole back leg is super engaged right now. 79 00:03:15,208 --> 00:03:16,929 Sinking into my front knee. 80 00:03:16,929 --> 00:03:19,384 Working from the ground up. Lifting up. Mula Bandha, 81 00:03:19,384 --> 00:03:20,394 from the pelvic floor. 82 00:03:20,394 --> 00:03:22,263 We'll talk about that more on another day, 83 00:03:22,263 --> 00:03:25,665 but I'm lifting and lengthening up and out of the spine. 84 00:03:25,665 --> 00:03:29,120 At the same time, opposition, right? 85 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:31,932 I'm squeezing my shoulder blades in together and down, 86 00:03:31,932 --> 00:03:33,269 grounding through the back heels, 87 00:03:33,269 --> 00:03:34,802 sinking into that front leg. 88 00:03:34,802 --> 00:03:36,938 So as I lift and lengthen through the crown of the head 89 00:03:36,938 --> 00:03:38,772 and the heart, I'm also grounding. 90 00:03:38,772 --> 00:03:42,503 Tagging a little weight in the elbows 91 00:03:42,503 --> 00:03:44,612 finding that opposition. 92 00:03:44,612 --> 00:03:46,551 Starting to build a little bit of a sweat here, 93 00:03:46,551 --> 00:03:50,343 as I peel my left hip crease back, rotate the hips forward. 94 00:03:50,343 --> 00:03:52,693 I can stay as a beginner here in Warrior I 95 00:03:52,693 --> 00:03:54,990 with hands on the hips, no problem. 96 00:03:54,990 --> 00:03:57,151 Just strengthening the legs. 97 00:03:57,151 --> 00:03:59,519 The last action point that I really think is important 98 00:03:59,519 --> 00:04:01,563 that I'd like to share with you is just 99 00:04:01,563 --> 00:04:04,604 squeezing everything in east to west, north to south. 100 00:04:04,604 --> 00:04:07,333 Almost as if I were trying to pull the front edge of my mat 101 00:04:07,333 --> 00:04:08,970 and the back edge of my mat together. 102 00:04:08,970 --> 00:04:11,907 So I'm really working hard here. 103 00:04:11,907 --> 00:04:13,800 Building strength from the inside out. 104 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:15,820 Integrity in my posture. 105 00:04:15,820 --> 00:04:19,744 To go into the full Warrior I, I'll inhale, smile. 106 00:04:19,744 --> 00:04:21,958 Exhale, ground through the heels, 107 00:04:21,958 --> 00:04:23,854 and then inhale with the fingertips spread, 108 00:04:23,854 --> 00:04:28,385 reach forward, up, and back. Opening the shoulders. 109 00:04:28,385 --> 00:04:29,856 We can interlace the fingertips here 110 00:04:29,856 --> 00:04:31,551 or if you're a little bit tight in the shoulders, 111 00:04:31,551 --> 00:04:33,436 you're feeling a little bit cramped, 112 00:04:33,436 --> 00:04:36,309 go flying V. Give yourself the space that you need. 113 00:04:36,309 --> 00:04:40,096 Especially in the early stages of our asana practice. 114 00:04:40,096 --> 00:04:42,198 You can see I'm getting a little belly dancer here, 115 00:04:42,198 --> 00:04:45,203 the point is to find what feels good, to move around. 116 00:04:45,203 --> 00:04:46,707 So again we don't want to come here and 117 00:04:46,707 --> 00:04:48,066 be static in a posture. 118 00:04:48,066 --> 00:04:50,439 That does us no good. No benefit. 119 00:04:50,439 --> 00:04:53,104 We want to breathe. We want to create space. 120 00:04:53,104 --> 00:04:54,388 Keep going through our action points. 121 00:04:54,388 --> 00:04:57,847 Keep sinking into that front knee. 122 00:04:57,847 --> 00:05:00,586 And then we arrive. Warrior I. 123 00:05:00,586 --> 00:05:04,649 In kids yoga, the affirmation here we say is, 124 00:05:04,649 --> 00:05:06,056 "I am bold." 125 00:05:06,056 --> 00:05:07,871 And it is a bold posture. 126 00:05:09,143 --> 00:05:10,972 Extending through the crown of the head, 127 00:05:10,972 --> 00:05:12,359 relaxing the shoulders down, 128 00:05:12,359 --> 00:05:13,904 pressing into my foundation. 129 00:05:13,904 --> 00:05:16,231 And then seeing if I can just grow a little bit 130 00:05:16,231 --> 00:05:18,801 soft in the face here. 131 00:05:18,801 --> 00:05:22,509 Find that ease as I work hard. Marrying the ease to the effort. 132 00:05:24,390 --> 00:05:27,070 Warrior I. 133 00:05:27,070 --> 00:05:29,021 To come out of the posture, I can open the shoulders 134 00:05:29,021 --> 00:05:31,992 by exhaling, sending the fingertips behind me, 135 00:05:31,992 --> 00:05:34,934 just nice chest opener here. Hello. 136 00:05:34,934 --> 00:05:36,229 Felt good. 137 00:05:36,229 --> 00:05:38,322 And then I'll come back to Runner's Lunge 138 00:05:38,322 --> 00:05:40,639 by melting the belly to the thigh. 139 00:05:42,233 --> 00:05:45,292 Fingertips come to the mat. 140 00:05:45,292 --> 00:05:47,364 And then I can either step my back leg up 141 00:05:47,364 --> 00:05:50,590 by lifting the heel up to Forward Fold. 142 00:05:50,590 --> 00:05:52,930 Ooh, hello. 143 00:05:52,930 --> 00:05:56,557 Or often, just a little sneak peak, 144 00:05:56,557 --> 00:05:59,082 I'll plant the palms and often in Hatha yoga, 145 00:05:59,082 --> 00:06:03,387 I'll from here step it back, to Downward Dog, 146 00:06:03,387 --> 00:06:06,161 which was our video last week. 147 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:10,282 Ok, so that was Warrior I or Virabhadrasana I, 148 00:06:10,282 --> 00:06:12,500 in Sanskrit. 149 00:06:12,500 --> 00:06:15,414 It's the first of the standing warrior series. 150 00:06:15,414 --> 00:06:18,166 If it's not easy, that's okay. 151 00:06:18,166 --> 00:06:20,510 Keep at it. Give it a try. 152 00:06:20,510 --> 00:06:22,566 Practice. Practice is what's it's all about. 153 00:06:22,566 --> 00:06:25,943 Practice and all is coming, as they say. I love that. 154 00:06:25,943 --> 00:06:28,999 For more about the posture and other things 155 00:06:28,999 --> 00:06:32,341 Yoga With Adriene related, visit poccox.com. 156 00:06:32,341 --> 00:06:33,816 Subscribe to the channel if you haven't already. 157 00:06:33,816 --> 00:06:37,045 Have a happy, happy most blessed holiday 158 00:06:37,045 --> 00:06:38,556 and Namaste. 159 00:06:39,396 --> 00:06:42,716 (upbeat music)