Giselle's Easy but Awesome 30 Minute Yoga Exercises

Hi, I'm Giselle, and I'm going to be doing a video for you today in reference to what you should be doing when you first start out your yoga practice. So when you first start your yoga practice, you don't want to go into extreme stretches right away because your body needs to be warmed up. And if you don't warm up properly, what will happen is you'll really pull muscles and you won't feel very well with it. You really want to make sure that the body is warmed and primed first. So what we do in yoga are called sun salutations. Now, sun salutations are a series of moves that warm up the body and stretch and strengthen. So we're going to start out taking it very easily and slow. This way you can start to warm up gently and then really feel what it's like. If you want to do nothing but sun salutations for your yoga practice, that's wonderful. So you can just use this as your main focus if you're a beginner, then as you get better, we're going to start to incorporate more and more moves that are going to be a little bit more strenuous, maybe a little bit more advanced. This is basically what you're going to need to do when you first start out in the morning or any time of day that you start your yoga practice. So what we're going to do first is we're going to come up to the front of the mat. So we start out by coming up to the front of the mat, because we're going to be stepping backward quite a bit. We want that room, want that distance. So the first thing that we're going to do is bring the arms up with a deep breath in. So we're inhaling to the sky, bringing in a lot of energy. Inhale. Now let's bend those knees and hold your elbows and bring your chest all the way down to your thighs to start to release your back. So let your head relax all the way down. We want to make sure that we sink down as far as possible here. Completely relax your head. So bend your knees, relax your head, and just take a few deep breaths here. You can even move your shoulders a little bit. And bend. Right now what's happening is we're starting to feel this great release all the way down the whole entire spine. Relax your face, your neck, your shoulders, and just hang here for a little bit, completely releasing your head, your neck, your shoulders, and soften your face. Remember, the breathing is very important. As you go through any poses in yoga. So just inhaling deeply through your nose and exhaling through your nose is good. Now slowly straighten your legs and start to feel that really intense stretch down the back of the legs. If you're very tight, you might not be able to straighten all the way. But if you're very flexible, you're going to start to feel that you can go down a little bit further. Maybe the elbows are coming down a little bit more. When you do this, I want you to tighten that lower belly a little bit, and that's going to allow your lower back to release even further. Now take another deep breath in. And on this exhale, I want you to relax your hands. Now, you may not be able to go to the floor. You might only be able to go to your calves or your ankles. And that's fine. Just stay there. But if possible, fingertips to the floor or palms. And this is Uttanasana, just a really great stretch. If you're super flexible, some of you people that have been practicing yoga for a while, you can bring your palms beside your feet, taking a deep breath and then folding completely forward. Good. Now let's take a deep breath here. And right from where you are, bend your knees again, take a deep breath and roll it up slowly so that you feel your spine release one vertebrae at a time. Now let's come to the sky and take a really deep breath. Up again. Inhale. Now let's do just a little back bend. Slide the shoulders down your back. Let your head relax and tighten that lower body as you go into just a gentle reach. Not too far because the body is still not warm. Just a good reach. Good. Now come up with an inhale. I want you to take your fingertips under to the sky as you extend your chest. And then try to clasp behind your back and let your chest come towards your thighs again. Maybe even your head to your shins. If you're super flexible, don't worry about going this far if you're not flexible. Now let's bring the palms to the floor. Take a really deep breath here. Inhale. As you exhale, step back with your right foot. Now let's get a nice low lunge and check your alignment. The knee should be right over the ankle, so we're going to hold a few seconds here, breathing deeply. The right hand stays on the floor. Let's take those left fingers up to the sky and breathe way up. Now I want you to feel that great response, that great release right over here. So you're going to feel this part completely stretching. Keep the Breathing deep and steady. Inhaling up to the sky. If you want this to be a little bit more intense, take your left arm around your back and rotate your chest up a little bit more, Fingers up to the sky with an inhale, taking your left hand down. Now we're going to slide the left foot back and let's come into a plank position. Shoulders are going to slide down your back. Keep your abs engaged. This is a great pose right here to really build strength in the upper body, the core and the legs. If you're a beginner, drop your knees, cross your ankles. Watch that the palms are under the shoulders. Slide the shoulders down your back and come down with the elbows to the body and then straighten your legs. Take a deep breath. Now we're going to press just in the Cobra here for beginners. You can even lift your palms off the floor. Or if you want to make this more intense, straighten all the way and make sure that the knees are off the floor. And look up. This is an upward facing dog. Now let's go into a downward facing dog from here. Palms are flat, tailbone is high, feet are hip distance. Let's press through those arms. Lift your tailbone and take a deep breath in. And on your exhale, press the chest towards your thighs. Keep your left heel flat. Take your right toes up and let's point to the sky as we inhale. Deep breath. Bend your right knee, flex your foot and bring that right heel towards your left shoulder as you look underneath your right arm. Now let's slowly take the toes to the sky with an inhale. And then swing that right leg forward. Come right into another lunge. Use your hand to pull the foot forward if you need to. The left hand stays on the floor, the right fingers go to the sky as we again breathe way up. And inhale. Let's feel that great stretch. Now hook around again if you can and open up the whole right shoulder. Fingers high. Inhale, taking that right hand down. Let's stay here. And all I want you to do now is straighten your right leg and stay halfway if you're really tight. If you are more flexible, walk those palms forward and let your head come down to your shin. Now look ahead and take a deep breath. Let's bend that right knee and walk your back foot towards the front. Bend both knees, relax your head. Inhale and roll it up slowly and then come to the sky with a deep breath in. Let's go for a slight back bend. Let's go for a nice little back bend here, just as far as you feel comfortable, don't go too far if it hurts. And then bring it up with an inhale. Now let's take those fingers back to the ceiling In a swan dive. Extend your chin, lower belly starts to engage, clasp, pull up. And again. Halfway is fine. Or if you're super flexible, bring the head to the shins, bring your palms to the floor. Let's take a deep breath here with an inhale. Now I want you to wrap around the backs of your calves. Take another deep breath. And on this exhale, let's pull a little bit further. Maybe the head to the shins again. Good. Let's bring those palms to the front floor. Take a deep breath. Now the left leg is going to go straight back. So let's do a big giant lunge all the way. Checking your alignment again. Knee over ankle. Take a deep breath here. Keeping your left hand on the floor, take your right fingers up to the sky. Breathe way up. Inhale and let's hook around again. Opening up that whole right shoulder. Bring it to the sky with an inhale. Taking your hand down, let's slide back into plank again. So again, for beginners, I'm going to show you your modification. Your knees drop, you cross your ankles, you slide the shoulders down your back and you come down with your elbows to the body. If you're a little more advanced, let's come down into Chaturanga dandasana, which is coming down in a straight line, elbows to the body. And then we're going to roll into an upward facing dog and a downward facing dog. So again, checking your alignment, making sure that your arms are extended, your tailbone is lifted, your lower belly is engaged and your feet are hip distance. Chest goes towards thighs. Let's take a few deep breaths here. Inhale, exhale. Long inhales and long exhales. Now keep your right heel to the floor. Take your left toes to the sky. Press through those arms and take a deep breath. Now bend your knee and flex your foot. Bring the heel towards your right shoulder and look under your left arm. Good. Now straighten your leg. Breathe. Swing that left foot all the way forward. And if you're a beginner, use your hand. Knee over ankle. Let's hold it. Take a deep breath. The right hand stays on the floor. The left fingers go to the sky. Breathe way up and feel that great stretch. Inhale. Now hook around and again. We're going to start to twist up a little bit more here. Bring your fingers to the sky. Take a deep breath up. Take your left hand down. Now Stay here. Just straighten your left leg. So remember, if you're a beginner, stay halfway. If you're a little more advanced, walk it forward and let your whole chest come down to your thigh and bring your head to your shin. Now look up, take a deep breath, bend your left knee and let's start to walk that back foot to the front. Bend your knees, relax your head, take a deep breath. And when you exhale, we're going to roll it up. Good. Let's come to the sky for another deep breath in. Another little back bend, reach it and then bring it up with an inhale. Now let's take it way down again. We're going to take those fingertips up to the ceiling with the chest leading. Clasp your fingers and halfway is fine. Or head to the shins if you can go that far. Let's bring those palms back down to the floor and take a deep breath. Now walk your feet back, come down to your knees and sit on your heels in child's pose. Balasana. Let's just allow the head to relax down to the floor as we rest, breathing deeply, inhaling and exhaling. So we'll stay here for about a minute, completely releasing sake. A deep breath in, inhaling as you exhale. Let's roll it up slowly. Let your head relax and slide it back. And now take a deep breath when you come up. Good. All right, now let's come and just sit in a gentle seated position. So I want you to take a nice deep breath here, keeping your spine tall, breathing in. And exhale. Good. Now we're going to go into some stretches for the neck and the shoulders and the upper body. So let's take a deep breath in. Exhale, bringing your head gently down to the right. Let's get a little bit of pressure outside of the head and drop your shoulder down so you could use me as your mirror image. And bring it up and take a deep breath. Alright, let's switch sides. Now taking your head down. Just a gentle press outside of the head. Drop your shoulder. Keep the breathing deep and steady. Inhaling and exhaling. Good. And release it and take a deep breath. Let's clasp the fingers. Press. Press your palms way up to the sky. And I want you to separate your ribs now. So breathe in, take in some energy and as you exhale, circle and clasp your fingers behind your back and then pull up on your arms. So we're just interlacing the fingers behind the back so that you can really get a good stretch and release it. Good. Now let's do that clasp again. One more time, bringing it to the sky. Pressing up with an inhale. Now taking your right hand down, take your fingers or your left. Whatever side you're on is fine. Just use me as your mirror image. Fingers up. And we're going to reach it over gently. So now we're going to feel that really great stretch right up the whole side of the body. Let's reach it over and try to look up to your elbow as you round it over. Don't forget your breathing is deep and steady. Inhaling, exhaling and bring it up. Take a deep breath. Good. Let's switch sides now. Fingers to the sky. Really deep breath. Let's start to feel it. Breathe up, inhale. Now we're going to reach it over slightly slowly. And remember, you're just feeling that great release up the side of the body. Don't hold your breath here. Inhaling, exhaling, looking up to your elbow and reaching all the way over and bring it up to the sky again. Inhale, exhale. Great. Now, keeping your hands grounded, we're going to go for shoulder rolls to release some tension in the shoulders. So let's circle forward and back. One big circle. Two and three and four and five. Now let's reverse. One, circle. Two circle. Three circle. Four. One more and five. Good. Let's bring it up again. Press to the sky. Deep breath. Inhale and exhale. Great. Now we're going to stay seated. We're going to go for some really great stretches. Now, since the body is warmed up, we went through our sun salutations. We released the hamstrings and the back and the neck and the shoulders. We're going to go into some really great stretches for the hamstrings, which are really tight muscles back here. Now, a lot of people have back problems because of tight hamstrings. So when you start to release these tight muscles under here, you might even really eliminate all of your back pain. So let's go into it the proper way. So in a seated position, I want you to keep your spine nice and tall. It's very important not to slump. We want to stay lifted. Kick your heels out with your toes going upward. Let's come to the sky. Take a deep breath. Way up with an inhale. Now, when you go forward, don't round your back. I want you to come down extended. Just imagine that you have a board behind your back and it will prevent you from rounding. So with that nice long board behind your back, we're going to go forward. And if you're really tight. Just hold your calves to your ankles or your toes. Okay, Breathe in. So again, if this is really hard for you to grab your toes, calves are fine. Just extend and the lower belly is engaged. Nice long extension here. Let's keep the chin a little bit lifted so that it reminds us to keep going forward without rounding the back. And let's hold it here. Deep breath. Eventually, as you get a little more flexible, you'll be able to go a little further. So we're breathing deeply and we're exhaling, coming forward. If this is your limit, then that's perfect. You don't have to go any further, but you might be able to go a little bit more. So eventually, as you get a little more flexible with that long extension, you may be able to come down a little bit more. Now, when the belly and the chest starts to hit your thighs, then you're ready to relax or all the way down, because now you have the maximum stretch going in the backs of the legs. So breathe in and then come forward and let your head relax. Maybe your elbows will come to the floor. Pull your toes towards you and come on down. If you're really flexible, grab a hold of a wrist and go all the way forward. Deep breath. And on the exhale. Come on. Come on down. Now let's come up to the sky, taking the deepest breath possible. Inhale, exhaling, bringing your palms to the floor. Good. Now let's come right into a position with the soles of the feet together. Let's breathe in. And on your exhale, press your elbows to your inner knees. Good. So this is going to really stretch the inner thighs. Hold it here. Great. And bring it up. Let's extend those legs. Good. Now we're going to go into a spinal twist for here. Let's take the right foot in. Cross it over. And now you can keep your left leg straight if you want to. If you feel okay, we're going to bend and we're going to hug. Now really squeeze tight. Good. Keep the left arm wrapped. Take your right arm up with an inhale. Bring your palm way back. Lift your chest. Squeeze and twist. Look behind you. And let's bring it to the front. Take a deep breath. Good. Switching sides. Now taking your other foot in. Cross it over. You can keep the leg straight or bend it. Either way is fine. Let's hug. Squat. Squeeze tight. Deep breath. Now bring it up and touch behind and squeeze and twist. And bring it back. And let's take a deep breath. Exhale. Great. Now let's extend the legs Again. And let's shake it out a little bit. Get a little bit of release for the tightness here. Good. Let's go onto the palms and the knees for cat Cow stretches. Palms flat. Now let's look up to the sky with an inhale. And on your exhale round your back. Press hard through those arms. Lift your belly into your spine. Again. Deep breath as you look up. Inhale, exhale round the back. Press hard. Let's do that one more time. Inhale, look up to the sky. Exhale and round. Good. And relax. Great. Now, from here, let's just sit on the heels again and get a nice little stretch for the shoulders. Walk it all the way down. Let your head relax. Feel the whole spine release, bringing your head down in child's pose and roll it up and take a deep breath here. Good. Now we're going to sit again. Let's do a little bit of strengthening for our abs. We're going to go into Navasana boat pose. Slide your fingers under and let's bring those shins level. Great. If you can, extend your fingers. Hold it here and then take it up if you can, to the sky with the toes. If that's really hard for you, give yourself a little assistance. Great. Bring it up if you can do it. Good, good. All right, great. Bring it down. So I know that that's a little bit intense, but it's really great for your core. Deep breath here. All right, now we're going to lie all the way down. Let's bring the fingers behind the head. Now we're going to keep the knees tight and flex your feet. Bring your elbow, whichever one you choose, outside of your knee. And let's work the obliques. Bring it to the center. Take a deep breath. Let's switch sides. Elbow outside of the knee. Hold it. Bring it to the center. Deep breath. One more time. Reach and hold center. Deep breath. Good. One more. Reach and hold and come to the center and relax. Now let's extend the arms and legs in opposite directions. Let's breathe, reach, inhale, exhale. Let's go into bridge pose. So bring your feet in and keep your feet about hip distance apart. Let's start by lifting the hips off of the floor. And let's squeeze it up. Palms are flat. Good. So we want to lift a little higher here. Really feel the legs work. Now bring your arms overhead and stretch. Lower down gently. Good. Now from here, we're just going to go into a brief moment of silence called Shavasana, which is basically going to give you a really great stretch just through your inner body. So you're releasing downward, but we're relaxing the palms upward. So now this is a great way to become integrated with everything that we've just done. So it's a relaxing pose. Shavasana is just total your final relaxation. So the palms are facing up where the eyes are closed. Let's take a deep breath in. And when your exhale, we're just going to let the feet relax. So then the palms are facing the sky. Let's go into one stretch up to the sky. Breathe. And now exhale as we bring those palms beside the body again. Now we're ready to completely de stress. Feel your whole body growing heavy. The palms are facing the sky. The body is growing heavy. You want to feel gravity pull the body down and feel gravity take all the stress and tension and toxins with it. So everything is draining down into the ground. You're leaving yourself with nothing but a feeling of deep peace and deep relaxation. So now we'll just keep the eyes closed for another minute, focusing only on your breath. Gentle flow, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your nose. Completely relaxed. Sam. Now let's keep the eyes closed and slowly bend your right knee and your left knee. And then we're going to gently roll over onto our side and then take a deep breath here. Inhale and be begin to press your upper body off of the mat. Good. Now let's go into just one more stretch. We're going to cross the ankles. Wrap your arms. Deep breath here. And on your exhale round your back and bring your chin into your throat and feel your whole spine releasing as you press your belly into your spine. And now look up to the sky as you inhale. Deep breath. Exhale. Relax your knees down. Bring your arms up with an inhale. Touch your palms. Inhale to the sky. Exhale as you bring your palms to your heart. Namaste.