14: Yoga Circuits | 25 Minutes | Full Body Active Recovery Workout!

Hey, everybody. I'm Amy from Bodyfit by Amy. And this is your yoga circuits workout. This is an all body weight active recovery workout. And instead of a traditional flow like we often do with yoga, we're going to be working in circuits. So we'll have timed intervals of some yoga and mobility and flexibility inspired moves. Of course, I'm going to give you lots of different options to work to your level. Are you ready? Let's, let's do it. Go ahead and start. Let's just get in touch with our posture. We're going to start in a standing position. Let's roll those shoulders back up and down. Let's stack that core so that rib cage right over your pelvis. Really be aware of your posture. Ears over shoulders, shoulders over pelvis and hips and rib cage over the knees and the ankles. Just take a minute to settle into that good posture. One hand on your heart, one hand on your belly and a few deep breaths. You can think of that TA breathing. We talk about 360 breathing all the way around. Exhale, bring everything in. Inhale to expand through your back, sides and belly. Exhale, bring everything in. Trying to both think about that core engagement, but also be thinking about that posture and getting yourself centered for this workout today. And then let's just do a little march and roll of the shoulders. We're not going to do much of a warm up. We're just going to get the blood flowing because we're going to get right into those circuits. Active recovery. This is going to give you that mobility and flexibility that we love with active recovery. But I want this workout to be what you need it to be. So if you need more of that stretch, you can hold the stretches longer. If you want more of the movement, more of the activity, you can keep the flow, keep it a little more active. Most things we're going to flow through with a slight stretch, a little. It'll feel a little bit more like yoga mobility. But again, you make it what you need. I want you to be where you are today. I'm always going to say you do you, this is your workout. So if you need more recovery, more stretch, just being here, moving is all that matters. If you want to take it a little more active, that's okay too. All right, now that we got the blood flowing, let's start. We're going to start 40 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of rest. So that's in those 20 seconds. I'll show you what our next move is. Then we're going to do that circuit A second time, and we'll go 50 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest getting into the next move. The nice thing is you're only doing one thing for that. 40 seconds. And we're starting pretty simple. I'm going to turn to the side. We're going to do that forward fold. So big inhale, exhale, palms down in front. Inhale. We're gonna fold it over, all right? So join me here. Big inhale, exhale, palms down in front. Inhale, up, fold it over. And from here you can pedal the feet just a bit. And you can do that, even that lift into that flat back, then take it back down. Inhale, all the way up. Exhale, down in front. Take this at the pace that you need. Inhale out, take it here, pedal, little lift, flat back, and then all the way up and down. So it's gonna move pretty quickly with these circuits. Now we're gonna take it to that up dog and that down dog. So it's up to you if you want to stay from the plank all the way up to that up dog. Right through here. Or cobra and then back to the down dog. If it's better for you to go child's pose to all fours, that's an option too. That's your modification. Join me down on the mat in three, two, one. Here we go. So you're bringing it up. That cobra or up dog can be whatever you need it to be. Hands or elbows, curl those toes and then press up into that down dog. Right through here. Bring it back to center slowly down and again. Use those knees if you need to. If you need a little baby cobra, take it here. If you can bring it all the way up, take it to your down dog. You're gonna find out pretty quickly why we usually do flows. Because we don't get a ton in. Right? Bring it up and last time, right through here. So we're gonna stay in that down dog. I'm gonna give you an option if you need to. It can be your bird dog into a little pigeon stretch, but if you're able, we're gonna go with that three legged dog. Take one leg up, extend big reach, bring it into a little pigeon. We're gonna keep it all on one leg. We'll get the other leg our second time through. So my right leg going up. Here we go. Press it up, bring the knee through and again. If you just want a 40 second hold in that pigeon, that's okay too. Again, the reason we usually flow is because we get a little scratch stretch. We get mobility and flexibility, and we need a little more time to do it, so certainly don't feel rushed on the stretch. We're just making it a little more active for that recovery. And let's get one more. Take it up and bring it through. I know it's going to be a little uneven on that side, but that's okay. We're going to come right, right back to it. Here's what we got now, team. We're going to start from the top. We're going to take that left leg forward, right leg back, low lunge. Then we're going to bring it up into that Warrior. You don't have to get all the way down, down to the ground. If this is better for you here to here. We're going to keep it all on one side, then we'll get that other side in 3, 2, 1. Low lunge, little stretch if you need it. Push up out of it. And Warrior. Look over the fingertips, back to center. Scoop it up. Low lunge. Press up. Warrior, right through there. Take it up all on one side, then we'll get to that other side. I know this one. We will do right and left, but our pigeon will get that other one right after here. One more. 3, 2, 1. Turn to that other side. We'll just turn. So same thing from here. If you can get all the way down, get that little hip flexor stretch. Tilt the hip forward, reach it up, then up into that Warrior 2. But if it's better for you, you can keep it a little higher. Core engaged. Here we go. Low lunge, little stretch open. Warrior, right through here. Reach. And Warrior. Yes. Bring it up. And here. Big stretch all the way through. Lengthen. And here, one more. I'm feeling my arms from yesterday's workout. And here. Shake everything out, team. We're gonna do all of that again. Now you know what to expect, starting with that little forward fold. Pedal your feet if you need it. Lift into that flat back if you need it. Let's take it right through here. 50 seconds this time. Here we go. Big inhale up. Exhale down in front. Inhale up and fold it over. A little petal of your feet if you want. Lift up halfway. Take it down and all the way up. Exhale down in front. Inhale up. Fold it over. Pedal those feet if you need. Come up halfway. Flat back and here. One more time. Bring it up. Inhale up. Exhale, fold. It's a hinge. Pedal those feet up. Halfway, all the way up. 10 seconds to go. Breathe. We're gonna Go that up dog to down dog. So remember, you can be all the way down, push up, push back, or you can do whatever version works for you. Here we go. 50 seconds. Take it down, press it up. Down dog or cobra or up dog or cobra. Take those feet and again. Hang out in that stretch as long as you need to. Maybe you love hanging out in D, dog. Hang out here. Maybe it's up dog. Take it all the way through here. Take it down, bring it up. Even look side to side. Drop those shoulders, press, take it back. Lift those hips to the ceiling. I like to grab that petal there. If you need to, just take it here, all fours and then child's pose. You can always make this a stretch that feels better for you. Find what feels good. 10 seconds. Bring it up and take it back. 3, 2, 1. All right, team, so now we're doing that other leg with our three legged dog into that pigeon. So for me, it'll be my left leg going up for you. If you can't remember, don't worry about it. You can always alternate. Here we go. So press it up and lift does not have to be perfect. Drive it through and pitch. And again. If you want a full pigeon stretch instead, maybe you love pigeon. Go for it. Hold it there and bring it through. I think I did a workout recently where we did half the active stretch like this and then half of the static stretch. And it was really nice to hold the stretch at the end. We'll have to add more of that side to side. Go ahead and take it up. Big stretch, really lengthen and back down right here. If you want, you can go through one more. You can just hang out here for three. For two for one. All right. Last time we got that low lunge into our warrior. We'll go right, we'll go left. We got 50 seconds of each, then we're moving on. Here we go. Scoop it up. Low lunge. Get what you need. Is it more of that hip flexor stretcher? Hip opener. Push up and lengthen. Take it back through. Either here or scoop it through, take it down and up. Yes, Scoop it up. Little bit of balance. If you're too far apart, just move those feet a little closer. Closer. If that works, to really reach back towards those ears. So you're not just holding your arms up, right? You're really stretching with intention. Big scoop, reach towards the back. One more. All the way up. Hold it for four. Three, two. Relax those arms. Same thing. Other side. Then we're gonna grab some water. Then our other Circuits are all down and on. Then that heart rate's up a little on that one, right? Let's get it done. Low lunge. Here we go. Scoop it up, bring it here. Take it here again. What do you need? Do you need more of that hip flexer stretch? More of that stretch here? You can take it up. Do you want to hang out here? Really get that strength and hip opening in your legs. Take it down. I'm doing the scoop, but you can also just keep it all from the top. As in right here. Yes. Lengthen. I know. Now we're feeling those arms. And we get one more all the way through. Scoop and here. Three, two, one. How was that? Right? Grab a sip of water. So even if you don't love yoga, and I'm one of those people that I know I need more of it in my life, you can kind of just keep your feet moving, whatever you want to do. It's great to move in circuits because you know, you only have to do that one thing for a short amount of time. Right. Sometimes in a flow, we don't love it because we're thinking, how long am I going to have? Have to be here? You've got your intervals, you know what's coming. All right, team, so let's take it down to the mat on all fours. Adjusting the clothes here. So we're here. We're going to start with everybody's favorite cat, cow. And that's all it is, team. We're going to add a little hover se second time through. But I just want you to really think about rolling through that back, cuz we all need that. Going to take it to a little side plank and a mermaid on each side, then a bird dog, then finish with a plank. So join me here. If you need dumbbells or to be on your wrist, take it here. 40 seconds, here we go. I want you to think about that. Inhale and exhale, using your breath to roll through the spine. A lot of us have that back tightness and tension, right? And here. So I really want you to think, connect with the core here and really try to get that movement in the low lumbar spine. For me, that's the hardest part. That's where I feel a little locked out. So I'm trying to not just have it be my upper body, but really think about that low lumbar spine. Tuck the core and one more all the way through. Little stretch back. All right, we're going to come onto our side. So side plank on the hand if you can but if your wrists need a little break, you can certainly take this to the elbows. But hand and knee, we're going to reach up or reach up, either one, and then scoop it down. Come off that hand, get a little stretch. So we'll probably just get three or four. Let's do it. Here we go. Scoop up side plank, big stretch. While also working the core. Slowly lower down. Bring those knees in. Stretch into your mermaid stretch. Modified mermaid. Here we go. You can also use the knee if you need to. Take it here all the way through. Bring it up. 10 seconds to go. See how fast that goes? I know. And let's get one more if you want. 3, 2, 1. Hold it here. Swing those legs to the other side. We'll do same thing on the other side. And again, if you want to hang out in the stretch or hang out in the side plank longer, totally fine. You can also be on this elbow. Zip up the core. Get a nice big stretch, but also the core working in 3. 3, 2, 1. Take it here and drop it down. Shift your weight to the side. Here we go. Reach it up and over. Drop it down. Shift, yes. Up and over. Big, big stretch. Take it down. And mermaid. Maybe you feel tighter on one side for me. That's this mermaid stretch. One more. All the way through. And here. And little mermaid. Yes. All right, back onto all fours. We've got our bird dog, so we're going opposite arm, opposite leg. What I want you to think about is really lifting. Lengthening through the fingers, lengthening through the toes. We're not arching the back, right? And we're not just lifting and lowering. We're lengthening. We're using the core. We're back to center. So nice. Good. Quadruped position. Here we go. Reach away from your body. Feel that core. Feel that stretch. And then back to center. Reach. So the balance is one of the hardest parts. If you want to feel your core more, shift those. Those weights a little. Your hips a little bit forward. Right hand back to center. Reach. And back to center. Yes. Ten seconds. And here. One more. Five, four, three, two, one. One. Stretch it back. All right, team, so last thing we're gonna do, a little plank knees. So we're gonna be on our elbows. We're gonna lift up in the pike. We're gonna drop down on the knees. So all the way through. If you'd rather just get a little stretch or if you want to stay on your knees, that works too. But elbow plank. Here we go. So lift up in the pike, right? Little dolphin, down to the knees, using your core to do it. Lift it up. So it's almost like a little modified down dog, right? We're still keeping the core engaged, but we're bringing it up, we're taking it down. Think about your core doing the work. Almost like those plank singles, right? But we're not dropping all the way down. We got 10 seconds. Finish it out strong. And back down. One more. Five, four, three, two, Boom. Stretch that out. All right, team, so we're going 50 seconds this time. Let's finish this out. We got five moves, so five minutes to go. Then we finish with the stretch. So we're starting with our cat cow. If you want, you can do cat, cow, little knee hover up to you if you want a little extra core. If you want the stretch, stay here. So zip up that core. Join me on all fours. Find that good position. Relax in the shoulders. Knees beneath the hips. Hands beneath the shoulders. Here we go. Exhale to lift, inhale to expand. Release in the hips and the pelvic floor. Right. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I want you to really think that everything is relaxed. Through the tailbone, through those sit bones, through the pubic bone and all those muscles around it. As you release in the back, we're going to release in the pelvic floor, right? And here. 15 seconds. Bring it up. And here. Stretch it out. I didn't do that. However, maybe you did. Side plank into mermaid again. Hang out in the side plank longer if you want. Hang out in the stretch more if you want. But we're going side to side. If your wrists are breathing, you keep it on your elbow. Keep it small or drop it to the knee. Here we go. Bring it up. Take it here. Lift it up. Big reach. Slowly lower it down. Take it here. Take your time with it. Whatever you need to get into it. Nice and strong. Really lengthen. Use the core. Back down. Yes. Bring it down. Let's just hang out here for 3, 2, 1. Swing those legs around to that other side. We got 50 seconds here. Zip up that core in three, two, one. Here we go. Take it up slowly. Down. Big stretch again. I'm tighter on this side. That's okay. Reach it up. Take it down. Big stretch. Let's bring it up and hold. Is that what it is? Did I have my other leg in front? Maybe that's it. Maybe that's why this one feels weird. Leg in front. Ah, that's a little better. And down. Still tight through here, but that makes the movement a little better. Right, we got 10 seconds. Can you get one more? And then hold that stretch for five, four, three, two, one. Bird Dog, let's get it done. Really lengthen. Shift forward in those hips for the core. Three, two, one. Here we go. Reach and bring it here. I'm gonna give you a little variation if you want to try it. We're just going to bring the elbow and the knee to touch. So big reach and then it's a little crunch and then switch sides. Big reach and crunch, right? Reach and crunch. Reach and in. So a little bit of extra core. Still getting the stretch there. Reach. 10 seconds. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. This is it, team. On those elbows. So that little dolphin plank, little pike drop down to the knees. All the way through. Use your core to do it. If you'd rather just get a little stretch, you can. But in 50 seconds we're getting a stretch. Here we go. Join me. Lift it up. Up. Stretch. Use your core. Drop it to the knees. Not all the way down, but just to here. Lift the core. Lift up, take it up. Feel that stretch in the shoulders. Slowly down to the knees. You're basically taking it from a regular plank to a pike and then a regular plank down to the knees. Feel that? Right, we got 15 seconds. Make them good. You can do it. Cuz we're stretching after this. Bring it up and take it down. Yes, team. Last one. Three, two and one. I want you to find whatever stretch you need in this moment. For me, it's going to be this modified cobra on my elbows. Little baby cobra looking side to side, hanging out in the stretch a little longer. And then if you want, take it back to that child's pose. Up to you again. Find the stretch you need. Press those shoulders down one and then the other foreign. I'm hoping that you feel like you got a little work and a good stretch, right? Feeling that energy that we get when we move, but also feeling that relaxation not just in your brain, not just in your body, but in your brain. That's what I meant. Clearly my brain is relaxed. Let's come down onto your back if that is good for you. Bring your knees into your chest. Just one at a time. Little stretch. You can just hold either underneath or on top. Nice and light through here. You want to drop your knees down to the side. Up to you. I want you really use this time to thank your body for moving with you today, for showing up for you today, for all, all the ways that your body shows up for you. If you want, you can take those knees out or feet flat, palms up. Just give yourself these last 30 seconds or so just to breathe into the mat. Just let it relax all the way through. Inhale and exhale. Try to release that tension. If you want, you can put one hand on your belly, one hand on your heart. Again, say it out loud. Thank you, body. Thank you for being here for me today. You can hang out here as long as you need, but if you want, from this position, one big deep breath in and out. Thank you for being here with me today. You did it. That was your Yoga Circuits workout. Great job, everybody.