20 Minute Yoga Flow

Hi, I'm Chris Britec and welcome to our 'Vinyasa Yoga Practice'. Vinyasa means to flow and I'll be stringing poses together in a fluid manner to relax, rejuvenate and restore your body. We'll also hold some poses today to build endurance and improve balance. So let's begin our practice today in child's pose one of my favorites. Lay your knees a little wide on the mat and then just come all the way down. Let your belly drop in between. Read your arms all the way out and just drop your forehead to the mat and breathe. You're just relaxed down on that mat and think about your pranayama breathing inhale through the nose, exhale through the nose. And let's just thread one arm through shoulder stretch. Just scratch into that shoulder, press down nice and easy. One cheek to the mat and just relax. You're trying to drop your glutes towards the mat if that feels okay, always listen to your body. Switch arms, just thread that arm through Palm faces up cheek to the mat. Just relax, press into that shoulder. Nice deep pranayama breath. And release coming into cat cow. We're gonna wake up, that's fine. Just round up to cat really exaggerate, look for your belly button and then release crown of the head away from the tailbone and breathe. Just move between these two poses at your pace. Very nice. Keeping that breath internal if you can think about it, come back to neutral, tuck your toes under. We're gonna find our first down facing dog press your palms into the mat, lift up through your heels and just breathe. So in down dog, there's a lot to think about. Dig your heels towards the earth as you lift your hips towards the sky. Press your palms firmly into the mat fan your fingers like starfish, press your open arm pits towards your thighs and just shake your head, yes or no. Nice and relaxed. And then go ahead and bicycle your heels a couple of times to wake them up, waking up the back of your legs and quiet those heels. Let's pull forward to a high plank. Breathe nice and strong here. Drop down chataranga, keeping your elbows in at your sides. Hold in hover and feels okay. You can always drop your knees and then release all the way down. Lift your toes over Cobra. Come up and Cobra wherever it feels comfortable for you relax your shoulders and neck. Tuck your toes under downward facing dog. So that's our Vinyasa flow. Let's go through that a couple of times together. Inhale high plank, exhale, drop down chataranga hold and hover. Roll through Cobra and tuck your toes down dog. Very nice going at my pace or yours, breath. Now you can roll through those toes and stay in up dog quads off the mat. Or you can put your quads down roll through those toes down dog. Take a nice deep breath here. Just hold it. Let's go ahead and walk our feet to our hands For your first forward bend. Now just ease into it bend and stretch your knees a couple of times and then try to get that forehead towards the knees and just release. Take your hands cup your elbows rag doll pose. Just hang all the way over. Listen to your body. Nice deep breaths here. Releasing the hands to the mat. Go ahead and inhale. Halfway lift back extension and then roll up. Release and roll up one vertebrae at a time open all the way up. Easy back pan hands come together nice and easy and come to a lateral stretch. Reaching over, just come up and out of your waistband. It's like you're against a sheet of glass. Just stretch a couple of deep breaths and then the other side. Breath. Very nice. And back to the center. Hands to heart center, roll all the way down. One vertebrae at a time. Good. Inhale halfway lift, exhale, release and roll up. Stacking those vertebrae one on top of the other inhale up, easy backbend and side stretch. Nice deep breaths. Just come a little further this time. See what's available into your body. Back to the center. And see what body parts need more attention. Take your time whetever you need to in any pose. Just breathe. Beautiful. Coming back up, hands to heart center and dive all the way down. Good. Inhale halfway lift. Listen up, walker, jump it back. High plank. Very nice. We're gonna go through our Vinyasa flow. Drop down, Chataranga, hold and hover roll through up dog or Cobra. Roll through down dog and just press into it. Beautiful. Taking your right leg, fly it high to the sky. Open up from big toe to big toe. Just stretch. Bring that leg up between your hands. If it doesn't make it all the way up, help it up. No problem. Staying on your back toe Crescent lunge coming up, stretch. Open that hip flexor, easy back bend. Nice deep breath, release. Pushing that foot behind you down dog taking your left foot, flying it high to the sky. Open up from big toe to big toe, stretch. Open your side body. Then bring that foot up between your hands. Help it up the rest of the way if you need to bend your back knee, open up, crescent lunge. Mind that balance. Easy back bend. Hold on opening that hip flexor breathe here. Strong, release. Push back. Hi plank and let's Vinyasa flow. Drop down, roll through and down dog. Very nice. Right leg flies. Open up from big toe to big toe, stretch. This time bringing that foot up between your hands. Drop your back heel down, blossom open Warrior two. You're gonna sink down into that warrior two breathe. Good. If you can keep that breath internal go ahead and do so I'm talking so it's hard. Hold on and reverse. Take that front arm and just reach it to the sky. Let your back hand just relax on your hamstring and then extended angle, elbow to knee, reach and open up. If this feels okay, pinky to big toe, open up drop those hips, breathe and release that hand down. Push your foot behind you down dog. Good, let's take our other leg. Fly at high to the sky. Open up from big toe to big toe stretch. Bring it up between your hands, dropping your back heel blossom all the way open, warrior two. Sink down use the strength of your quads. Pull those arms apart with your mind. Breathe, reverse reaching that arm up. Just let your back arm relax. Reverse warrior extended angle. Coming forward, elbow to knee. Reach that arm up or pinky to big toe. See what's available to you. What did you do on the other side? See if it's available this time. Dropping that hand down high plank this time, pull that foot back and Vinyasa flow. You can always drop to your knees. You can always modify. Right leg flies again. Open up from big toe to big toe. Beautiful. Bring it up between your hands. Drop your back heel, floss them open, warrior two. Sink down. You want their heel to align but there is no such thing as a perfect pose. Let that be known. Reverse. Maybe this time you take a half wrap with that back arm. Just stretch, good. Extended angle. Coming down, elbow to knee. Maybe you come pinky to big toe. Maybe you wanna take it one step further. Let's take that top hand at a half wrap. Open that shoulder up to the side of your room and then release that other hand arm balanced and just hold and breathe. Just your options, see what's available to you, and release that hand down push back down dog. Other leg, flied high to the sky. Open up, breath. Bring it up between your hands. Drop that back heel. Blossom open, warrior two. Pose of strength. Good. Reverse. Reaching up take that back hand for a half wrap if it works for you, just relax your head, neck and shoulders and extended angle. Elbow to knee pinky to big toe. Open that shoulder to the side room. Maybe if it was available on the other side half wrap. Arm balance. See what works for you. Nice big breath and release that hand down. High plank Vinyasa flow going at your pace. Beautiful. Fly that right leg high to the sky. Open up from big toe to big toe bringing it up between your hands. Help it up the rest of the way if you need to dropping that back heel, warrior one this time. So now we keep our webpage to the front of the room. Nice big breath here. We're gonna move into our warrior three. Now we're going to put our body weight right into that front leg and you're just going to tip it over. Hold your bounds. Find your drishti. Find your focal point. Maybe your hands come out to the side, tip it over only as far as it works for you. Maybe your hands come out front point that toe reach Beautiful. Hold on. Coming up. Tree pose. See if you can balance on that one foot. Come to the inside of the shin or to the inside of the calf or the inside of the , whatever works for you. Find that focal point. Slide your shoulder blades down your back. Have dominoes nice and tight and releasing that foot down heel toe together. We could toss in a chair post. Sit back into that imagine chair, lift up through those arms. Use your back extension. Engage those inner thighs if it feels okay. Nice, big deep breaths here. Hands to heart center and dive down all the way down. Go ahead and open up those legs. Inhale, halfway lift exhale, walk it back or jump it back. High plank and Vinyasa flow your pace. Nice, all right, other leg will fly high to the sky. Breathe, open those hips. Bring it up between your hands. Drop your back heel warrior one, peel it up. Keeping that rib cage to the front of the room. Just breathe. If at any point your shoulders get a little tired. You can always bring those hands to heart center. No such thing as a perfect pose. When we hold these poses it takes a lot of muscle endurance. So just hold on here. Moving to warrior three. So we're gonna tip it over into that front foot. Just come forward and take your time. Maybe your hands come out for counterbalance. See what works for you and hold your balance. Find that drishti, find that focal point. Maybe your harms do come out front. You see what's available for you. Hold on focus, lifting up through your supporting leg, tree posts so you can keep that balance but to the inside of your leg, hope in your branches. If you'd like, you can go ahead and lift it up above the kneecap. You're opening that hip flexor and you're working on your balance. So zip up that core, nice breadth dropping that foot down. Chair pose. you could toss me, heel toe together. Use those inner thighs. Sit down, fire those inner thighs. Work those back extensors. Big, deep breath, hands to heart center dive all the way down. Open those hamstrings forward bend, inhale, halfway lift, exhale, walk, or jump it back. High plank and we'll then vinyasa flow again. Very nice. Fly that leg again, Vinyasa means to flow. Bring it up between your hands, dropping that back heel So move in warrior two. Good, find that place where you feel good abdominals are contracting to sink into those legs and tuck your pelvis under. Very nice. Now we're gonna turn to the side room. So both feet will face straight on and we're just gonna Swan dive down into straddle splits. Come all the way down, hands come down, drop the crown of your head. If this feels okay maybe you can open those legs a little wider. You see what works for you. Coming down to those elbows and maybe you'll even take those hands and thread them through. Take some nice deep breaths here. Wherever you are is where you should be and releasing those hands, go ahead, heel toe in a little bit. Bend your knees. Find the front of your mat. Push back down dog. Nice deep breath. Good. We're gonna fly that other leg up. Reach it. Go ahead and bring it up between your hands blossom. Open warrior two. Good. Very nice. All right. This time, we're gonna turn our feet heels facing in toes facing out. So this way, open those arms horse pose or goddess pose, whatever you'd like to call it. You can rock into this pose just drop that toe bone and open up through your chest and heart right here, breathe. And if you'd like to take it a little deeper come into your yogi squat. Bring those hands together, bring your feet in a little bit. Drop your tailbone down. Now this is a challenge to get your tailbone down while keeping your heels on the mat. Elbows into the knees, press those knees away. It's your opening through your hips. This is one of my favorites but it's hard because my hips are tight. So just breathe. Very nice. And release. Come in the front of your mat. Let's Vinyasa flow one more time. It's your choice. Beautiful. All right, right leg flies. Open up from big toe to big toe stretch. And this time bring that foot up. And we're gonna come into pigeon post laid on an angle to the mat flip your back toe over to face the floor and just sit up. Now you wanna keep that body weight even on both hips. So don't fall off, try to stay up and maybe your hands on the mat. Maybe you're balancing you tell me. Sleeping pigeon. We're gonna bring our belly down. Come lightly, don't just plop into your upper body, but just come down nice and easy. Good. And coming back up, I could stay down there all day. Screaming, pigeon reach around same hand same foot and pull it. You're just gonna feel this through your quad. Now you decide how intense, breathe. Good. Very nice release. Push back down dog. Other leg flies. Good. And bring it up into pigeon pose. Bring it on an angle to the mat. Flip your other toe over to face floor and come up evenly into those hips. Just breathe. Sleeping pigeon if you'd like just lead with your belly. Nice and easy. And coming back up when you're ready screaming pigeon on this side you'll reach around same hand, same foot. You get a little quad and hip flexor stretch here. Breathe, relax those shoulders. Fabulous. Release that but go ahead, bring it all the way around. I'm gonna do a seated spinal twist. So take one foot underneath and the other foot over and then sit up nice and tall. You're just going to reach around, lengthen your spine. Think of it as really tall and just twist it, right here. Sit up and just pull and try to keep this sits bone down. You're just breathing. Very nice. And then release other side just switch the feet and then sit up tall. Make that spine really nice and long wrap to the side, breathe. And this is a quick yoga practice. There's so many more poses that we could do but this is just a taste for you. Make sure you're breathing, which just rejuvenates you. We take like 21,000 breaths a day to sustain life and we never really even think about it. So let's end in our easy seated pose. And I just want you to sit up nice and tall take a couple of wonderful deep breaths. And then I always like to take my arms up and gather all the positive chill, all the positive energy and bring it down, press it into our hearts so we can share it with others, Namaste, which means may the light inside of me guide the light inside of you. So thank you for your time and energy today. And for sharing your 'Vinyasa Yoga Practice' with me. I hope you have a happy and healthy week.