excited. It's day one, y'all. Let's get started.

All right, my friends. Today, we're going to begin in a nice, comfortable, seated posture,

sudassana, with one foot in front of the other. So just to stay on the same page, let's draw

the left heel in towards your center, and then the right leg comes in to follow. You

can use a blanket or a block or a pillow. Even a book sometimes is nice to lift the

hips up, if you feel like you're getting trapped in this Mr. Burns posture here.

So take a quick second to get settled in in a nice comfortable seat, one foot in front

of the other. Make sure everything's situated, and then when you're ready, sit up nice and

tall. See if you can align your head over your heart, your heart over your pelvis.

You might take your fingers and touch your booty and move the fleshy part of the buttocks

aside. You might fix your hair here. Just do all those little things, so that we can

come to a nice, still place as we begin our challenge. Nice and slow, settling in, easing

into it, and really choosing to stay present. So I like to call it getting your money's

worth. So we're going to get a workout.

We're going to commit to 30 days of practice together. We're going to stretch the body,

tone the muscles, deepen the breath. But beyond that, we're going to listen. We're really

going to use this opportunity to come into a different type of presence, maybe learn

something new about yourself.

So today's practice is focused on that. So you sit up nice and tall. Take a second to

close the eyes, relax your shoulders down, and just notice how you feel. Notice, perhaps,

the tendency to want to move quickly to the next thing. We got 30 days. We can take it

nice and slow and really set ourselves up for a nice experience that feels good.

Bring your awareness or your attention to your breath and just notice it. You might

begin to deepen the breath, play with it here, seeing if you can extend the inhale, make

it a little bit longer, and extend the exhale.

Stick with your breath as we begin to move the body and shape-shift in and out of different

poses. Remember, the breath is energy. You send breath to the tight places. Use the tool

of your pranayama or your breath to stay focused and really be honest with yourself about how

you feel each day and each time you come to the mat. Oh, and also, let's have some fun.

Dropping the chin to the chest, we'll begin to draw circles with the nose, one way and

then the other, and then reversing your circle. Back and forth, kind of dropping into this

moment for yourself. Then we'll bring the head back to center stillness and draw the

palms together at the heart. Deep breath in as you lift the sternum up, thumbs, hearts

coming together. You only have one heart, I guess, heart.

We'll take a deep, deep breath in through the nose here. This time, go ahead and let

it out through the mouth, exhale. Again, just like that, deep breath in thorough the nostrils.

Sit up nice and tall and exhale out through the mouth. Make some noise.

Now we'll interlace the fingertips. Keep breathing deep as you press the palms forward, shoulders

relaxed, drop down, and then we send the palms up and back. Nice and easy organic movement

here. The knees are going to want to fly up, and we're gonna ground down through the tops

of the thighs, committing to a full body experience as you lift and lengthen up through the side

body and keep playing with your breath.

We teeter-totter back and forth here. Stretch it out. Notice that the shoulders are starting

to rise up. See if you can keep the shoulders relaxed, heart lifted. Arms may begin to get

tired here, especially if you're new to the practice. Stick with it. Find ease. Use your

breath to keep it together. Just kidding.

Inhale, back to center we go. This time, carve a line with your nose all the way up. So rather

than just looking up, kind of crunching the back of the neck, just really mindful activity

as we carve a line with the nose. Look up. One more breath here, and then on an exhale,

we break free. Fingertips rain down. Awesome.

Plant the left palm into the earth. Inhale, reach right fingertips up and over side body

stretch. Again, work on creating a full body experience as we ease into the practice. So

for me, that means really paying attention to, yes, the side body stretch, but also grounding

down through the legs and maintaining that extension through the crown. You might find

a little pulse here. You might spiral your heart up towards the sky. Make it your own

here.

Deep breath in. Then exhale swiftly up and through center, and we take it to the other

side. Right palm to the earth. Left fingertips reach up and over. Same thing. Stretch it

out. Ease into it. Great. One more breath here. You might spiral your heart up towards

the sky, and then on an exhale, we bring it back to center.

From here, we're going to walk the fingertips behind us. I'm gonna turn to the side so you

can see this. Walking them behind, pinkies might come close or, again, if the shoulders

are really tight, give yourself some space. You can keep it nice and easy today.

So I walk the fingertips back. We sit up nice and tall. Imagine lifting up through the armpit,

chest here. So we're lifting up through this area of the body and opening the heart, the

chest. Close your eyes. Find your breath.

When you get bored, or your mind begins to wander, come back to that sweet inhale. Exhale

out through the mouth whenever you need to let go a little bit or find a little inspiration.

Then slowly we'll soften through the elbows and walk the fingertips all the way around

and forward. So nice and easy, we walk the palms forward. To each his own here. So you

might end up here on the palms, really pressing the sit bones into the earth again. Full body

experience, really expanding the awareness throughout the legs, the hips, making sure

I'm still mindful of the shoulders. For me, that awareness is really an act of self love.

I'm considering all parts. Hey-o! First hey-o of the challenge.

Okay. So you might stay up here on your palms. You might already be way past me and on the

forearms. If not, this gives you something to look forward to. No worries, just be here

in the moment. Another option is to maybe send the fingertips all the way out and begin

to relax the weight of the head over.

You might find a soft sway back and forth. And again, the sit bones are going to want

to roll up here to compensate. See if you can stay grounded. Maybe a forehead underneath

a block . . . Hello. A block underneath the forehead. Maybe even we bubblegum the fists

here for a little support.

Breathe into your right hip. Find that breath. Then press into the sit bones. Press up into

your palms. We're going to walk the fingertips, spider fingers, as we say in kids yoga, over

towards the right. Don't crank it. Keep it easy. Remember, find ease as we ease into

the practice. I brush away dog hair. So professional.

Deep breath in here. Keep a nice extension through the crown, breathing into the left

side body, pressing the sit bones back. Then we walk it through center and take it to the

left. Same thing. So again, those hips are going to want to come up. We stay pressing

into the sit bones, shoulders relaxed, really mindful through the neck.

Deep breath in. Follow your exhale as you unravel back to center, and then we're going

to switch the legs here. So right heel comes in, left leg comes out. We draw the palms

together at the heart. Once again, inhale, sternum to thumbs. Exhale. Relax the elbows

down. Just notice how your legs feel sometimes. This side can be a little bit different, feel

a little foreign.

We'll interlace the fingertips. Sit up nice and tall. Press the palms. Actually let's

interlace the opposite direction this time, so opposite thumb on top, a little yoga for

the brain as we begin. We press the palms. Oh, yeah, that feels weird. Forward, up, and

back once again.

And same thing, just a little organic movement. Yes, to stretch the side body. Yes, to bring

awareness into the spine, but really to set the tone for our practice and our challenge

that you're in charge. It's more than modifying up or down. It's really about listening, being

present, easing into it, being honest. Also, it gives you the freedom to move how you want

to move. Find what feels good. Inhale. Carve a line with your nose. Look up and exhale.

Rain it down.

Great. This time, we walk the fingertips together just like before. This time, we're going to

inhale, lift the heart, and exhale. Draw a line with the nose past the right shoulder.

If you've practiced with me before, you know I love this move. Imagine receiving a little

kiss on the neck. This is a little hygiene for the neck and shoulders.

So it might seem like you're not doing a lot, but we're drawing the shoulder blades down.

We're opening the chest, lifting up through the ribcage, and keeping an extension in the

crown of the head. Breathe into the left side of the neck. Then on an exhale, this should

feel really yummy, as you drop the chin into the chest, breathe into the back of the neck.

Oh, yeah. Then take it to the other side.

So we find a softness here, even in this shape. We relax the shoulders down. Imagine someone

kissing you on this side of your neck. It's getting steamy in here already. Inhale in,

extend, extend, and exhale chin-to-chest for one more breath. This time, you can really

draw your nose to your navel. Then we lift up through the crown of the head. Take a deep

breath in. Smile or turn on that inner smile. Then we release, walking the fingertips forward,

same thing.

Palms come to the earth and feel this hip out. So you might find a gentle sway. Again,

coming onto the forearms might be an option or maybe all the way down, breathing into

the outer edge of that left hip, noticing how the sit bones want to peel up, and the

pelvis wants to rock, but we keep it grounded and strong. Couple more breaths here. Nice,

strong awareness throughout the whole body.

You press into the palms to slowly release and come up. This time, we're going to take

the fingertips, spider fingers all the way to the left. So again, there is a tendency

to want to crank here and do the yoga pose, and I just ask you, invite you to ease up.

We have 30 days. This is our first day. We're going to stretch it out, take a little stock,

get settled in. So nice, gentle twists to the left, and then we'll release, take it

through center and take it to the right. Breathe nice, long, smooth, deep breaths. Then gently

release back to center.

Also, flip your palms up, sit up nice and tall. Take a look at your hands. Spread them

wide. We're going to commit to a nice, strong awareness through the hands as we come forward

and up into tabletop position. So take this focus of the hands with you as we come gently

onto all fours.

So we draw the wrists underneath the shoulders, my friends, knees directly underneath the

hips. Press into the tops of the feet. Take that focus of the hands with you as you press

away from your mat. So fingers are going to want to do what they naturally do, and we're

going to really expand awareness, building a strong foundation here on day one.

We press away from the earth. Draw the navel up towards the spine. Relax your shoulders,

draw them away from the ears. So really mindful in the head and neck. Tendency here is for

the neck to kind of collapse, but remember, the neck is a nice, long, beautiful extension

of your spine. Cool.

Take a deep breath in here. Press onto the tops of the feet. Don't panic. We're going

to lift the knees, let them hover just for a second here. I like to do this one to just

bring a little kick-start to our challenge, but also to light a fire in the belly. Also,

when we lift the knees here, we can really tell if we're collapsing in other places.

So find that integrity.

One more breath here. You might experience a little shake, a little tremble. That's prana,

the energy moving, definitely a transformative energy there. So one more breath, and then

we release. Cat cow never looked so good.

Loop the shoulders, drop the belly. Inhale. Heart radiates forward. On the exhale, I start

at the tailbone, turn it under, curl it under as I rotate the hip points. Find the surrounding

of the spine and release the crown of the head to the earth. Inhale. Keep it nice and

slow today. Dropping the belly, tailbone lifts up, heart opens out.

Moving with the breath, exhale, curing the tailbone in, traveling up the spine until

the crown of the head releases, moving at your own pace here with your breath, doing

a little energetic hygiene, getting the circulation going. A little spinal flex. Even if we just

did cat cow every day for 30 days, we'd be rocking and rolling.

So we begin to veer off the beaten path here if you haven't already, shaking the hips a

little left to right, just kind of coming off those railroad tracks, lingering in any

place that feels tight or sore. Might get a little freaky on me and even come forward.

Whoa. This is where we just begin to let loose. Awesome.

Then we'll come back to that tabletop position and drop the elbows where the palms are. And

again, stay aware of the hands here. Fingers are going to want to come in or go out, especially

if the shoulders are tight. So see if you can keep two railroad track lines here.

Pressing the elbows in to the earth, we walk the knees back and melt the heart. Heart to

earth pose, anahata assen. One of my favorites. If the forehead comes to the earth, let it.