- What's up, everyone?
Welcome to the Yoga with Adriene vlog.
We are in my breakfast nook today
and we're just taking a second to answer some questions.
So, we have all this great conversation
going on on the channel, which I'm super grateful for.
I know I've said it before,
so I won't babble on about it now,
but I'm really excited, inspired and grateful
for the nature and the very fact
that we're actually having an exchange, you know?
Chris and I aren't just putting out yoga videos
and we're not just practicing them.
We're actually talking really in-depth
and having fun in our private yoga groups,
which are on Facebook and they have to do
with the REBOOT group and the EMPOWER group,
which I'll talk more about later.
But also on Twitter, also on Instagram, who'da thought?
Actually, we got removed from Facebook.
I don't know what happened, but it was an exciting time.
Everyone's heart started, you know,
blood started pumping and our hearts started racing
and we all questioned life for a second there.
But anyway, we're back.
Also via the letter, the newsletter.
So, if you're not subscribed to the letter,
you might check that out.
You can go to yogawithadriene.com
and subscribe to the weekly letter from me.
And we actually, you know, I try to respond
to the e-mails there as much as I can.
And anyway, just starting off this vlog by saying thank you.
The reason we're answering questions here is
because we're actually talking
and I think that is super awesome.
So, that said, I put a call out for questions this week.
I put it up at like 10:30pm and, the next morning,
woke up with a bleep-ton of questions.
Saved you from having to bleep that out, Chris.
Okay. (laughs)
Anyway, so, I got so many great questions,
I actually sat down, I transcribed them all,
not even on my computer, like old-fashioned style
with a pen and paper.
And I organized them so that we will have whole videos
based on frequently asked questions.
So, I'm gonna do another video on nutrition.
I'm gonna do another video
just for yoga teachers or aspiring yoga teachers.
I'm gonna do a whole video on my yoga history
and talk about how I got into yoga.
So, if your question doesn't get answered today,
I just wanted to say
that it was definitely noticed and transcribed,
and it might even have inspired a whole other video.
So, for today, we're just gonna keep it simple.
I'm gonna go through a couple of fun things
and then, as time goes on,
we'll maybe keep this as a regular thing.
So, the first one that I wanted to tackle today,
really simple but it's so important,
tips for setting intentions
and maintaining them, keeping them.
And some people just went, "Oh, yeah."
And some people just went, "(groans)."
And I mean, I think that this is a good conversation to have
because the point is that we're actually talking
about setting intentions, that we're actually going into
this world of awareness, which, again, for some, is like,
"Yeah, I do that everyday.
"I set intentions every morning."
And some days, you'll forget or some people are new
to this kind of awareness jungle.
Sounds sexy, just kidding.
And so, I think that's a great place to start on this vlog.
Tips for setting intentions and maintaining them.
You know, of course, everyone's different,
so everyone has their own mode.
But for me, I like to write them down.
I write them in my journal, I write them on my to-do list.
Man, if I'm really having a week,
I write them on a dang sticky note
and I put it on the mirror or on the computer and the desk.
I also kind of have a ritual of setting intentions in my bed
or just kind of looking at the day ahead
in my bed before I get up,
before I pick up my phone, before I take care of the dog.
You know, just kind of having a conscious moment
before I actually put my feet on the ground
where I'm like, "Okay, what is it
"that we're gonna do today?"
That way I don't just get wrapped up in my to-go mind,
to-go doggie bag mind, whatever that means.
That really means the thinking mind,
which is what we talk about in yoga all the time,
something I talk about in my public classes
that are a little different from the videos.
We are there in the flesh together
and it's been so nice meeting people
who come into Austin to practice.
But kind of not ignoring the thinking mind,
but actually the opposite, just kind of acknowledging it
and then bringing it more awareness.
So, setting intentions at the begin of practice
to kind of maybe take a break from the thinking mind.
There's a awesome thing in Yogananda's book,
his Autobiography of a Yogi, where he talks about
or his mentions his teacher saying,
"What if you were to take a break from that?
"What if you were to just live life with more awareness?"
He said something like,
"What if you were to do this experiment
"where every thought that you had were to come true?
"What if every thought you had were to come true?
"How would you kind of reshape your strategy on thinking?
"Or how would your awareness grow?"
And so, I think, when you start
to think about the big picture
and you can apply this to your yoga asana practice,
letting the thinking mind take a break
and really, I know I always say it, but get your
money's worth when it comes to setting intentions,
then you're gonna maintain them baby.
It's not gonna just become this...
"Drink more water today," which is great,
but you're really gonna start to dig deep
and think about what I think
and the intentions that I set are gonna come true.
And if they are gonna come true,
how am I gonna really commit to that practice?
So again, I can give you tips on, like,
write the intentions down, that's fun.
Repeat mantras in the shower.
But really, just anchor your mind in this reality
or entertain this idea that every thought you have
has the power to come true.
And if, when you start thinking about that,
maybe your intention practice is gonna shift
and you're just gonna start to maintain them naturally.
Which kind of leads me to the next question,
which is, how do you stick with your yoga practice,
even when you're feeling sad or shitty?
Great question, especially for me
as I continue to grow my practice in this business of yoga.
You know, how do you (laughs),
how do you get on your mat
when you feel like just going to a movie and eating a pizza?
Well, my honest to god answer is
go to the movie and eat the pizza, you know?
That is yoga, too, for me.
Again, most people just lit up
and half the people just rolled their eyes.
But for me, I'm a younger person (laughs),
but I've been privileged to practice for a while
and from the biggest lesson I've learned
in the last five to 10 years is you gotta be yourself.
You got to understood that yoga is more
than the Yoga For Weight Loss video
that you're trying to get through
or the 30 Days of Yoga even.
It's starts to bleed into your daily life.
Those are invitations into a bigger practice,
which is being yourself.
And so, for me, sometimes that is
not getting on my mat at all
and totally going to the Alamo Drafthouse
and having a pizza and a party. (laughs turn into sobs)
Just kidding.
Or some days, it's a walk and then a margarita, you know?
Or it doesn't even have to be pizza
or alcohol, these extremes.
You know, sometimes it's just a couple of stretches
in my bedroom, naked (laughs) after a shower.
Just got 10 million subscribers!
Just kidding.
I'm not flattering myself, just being funny.
But yeah, sometimes it's not
the yoga practice that you think.
And so, that's how you get into your yoga practice everyday,
even when you're sad or feeling low on energy.
You gotta be true to the moment
and you gotta give yourself a free pass
and understand that that's the yoga, too.
So for me, when I practice,
I'm cultivating this insane amount
of self-love the more I practice.
And that's not just yoga talk, that is for real.
I'm looking into the camera
and telling you that is for real.
And so, then, when I begin to cultivate this self-love,
I begin to get joy out of giving myself those free passes,
forgiving myself when I don't go
to class when I intended to,
and I find other ways to feel good, okay?
So, that's neck rolls in the shower.
That's doing something nice for someone,
having a glass of wine with a loved one
and a real conversation.
Maybe instead of tending to yourself that day,
you tend to someone else and that feeds you.
So, it just depends on where you're at that day
and the real yoga moment is the listening.
So, that's how I do my yoga practice,
even when I'm feeling sad.
I stay present, I listen, and then the next day,
I come back even stronger.
I was just talking about that.
I had kind of a bad week last week (laughs).
maybe two weeks.
And then this week, I just kind of,
Monday hit and I reset and I was like,
"Okay, I'm done with that,
"time to shift my energy into something new."
And I'm gonna help you with that in the next couple weeks
and we're gonna talk about what we're gonna do
in June on the channel, which might help you too.
Favorite position when you're stressed?
This is a great thing after the last question too because
as I said, your yoga practice
doesn't always have to be the same.
You can change it up.
My favorite position is to widen my feet, hip width apart,
and go into a forward fold.
Anywhere. Do it at Target.
Who cares?
Great for the nervous system.
Great to just kind of "(groans)" rag doll it out
and then you can slowly roll up, hit the refresh button
and giddy on up and go.
That's it. Seriously.
It's not a fancy yoga pose.
Uttanasana is probably my fave pose to go to
when I'm stressed.
Somebody asked me if I have a daily routine.
I feel like that kind of goes with these questions today,
or do I change it up?
Totally change it up.
As I said, for me, the yoga, the uniting of my mind, my body
and my spirit and my heart is really all about listening.
Yesterday, I went to the YMCA with my friend
to learn a core workout.
Oh! And I ran into a Yoga with Adriene friend.
If you are watching this,
"Hello to you fit man, handsome fit man, and thank you
"for saying hello and that was fun to kind of connect."
Cause I never go to the gym anymore
so it was fun to see a Yoga with Adriene friend there.
So that was my yoga yesterday.
We did some stretching on the mats
and then I learned a friend's core yoga routine,
which totally inspired me.
And then, I didn't end up going to the class that
I was going to go to that evening.
I stayed home and worked and that was that.
So I absolutely switch it up.
Again, stay present with the listening, and...
be open to letting your practice evolve too.
Sometimes if you just hit the same practice every time,
and I'm really into this as a teacher lately,
you gotta be you in the moment.
You got to listen to the birds, listen to the weather,
the quality of air in the room.
Pay attention to how you feel in the present moment
and then you're going to get the best out of your practice.
So yeah, totally change it up.
When you're at home in Austin, what're your hobbies?
I don't really wanna talk about myself,
but this came up a lot, so I'll answer it.
What kinds of things you do for fun?
(quietly laughs)
I like to go to the movies.
I like to go to Barton Springs.
It's almost that time of year here.
Also, I like to swim.
I definitely like to do anything with the dog.
Mostly to wear him out but also because I love him.
Walking (sighs) I need to do,
you know how we have Tennis elbow,
I need to do a yoga for the Chuckit!
Thumbs up on this video if you know what I'm talking about.
If you have a Chuckit.
Shout out to Chuckit users everywhere.
Oh my God, so good if you have a active dog.
I like to hang out with friends.
I like to go to theater shows, puppet shows,
I mentioned the movies.
Here in Austin we have a summer film series,
at the beautiful historic Paramount Theatre.
I can't wait for that to happen.
Where they show all kind of like old classic movies,
my favorite.
It's really fun.
It's also really well air conditioned so in the Texas
summer heat, it's a nice place to go.
What else do I do?
I like margaritas.
I like to drink margaritas and eat Mexican food
with people I love.
I like to go to the park.
I like to...
go to yoga.
I mean I love to teach and I love to share this message
of find what feels good here in Austin too,
because a lot of my friends don't even realize
kind of what we have going on the internet.
So I kind of like to kind of welcome them into that.
What else?
I guess that's it.
I spend a lot of time at home these days,
which is different, years past, so it's nice to be at home.
Honestly, I'm going to be traveling a lot more,
so I look forward to what that brings to my kind of
daily routine and so far every time I leave,
it just makes me love you know, home more.
Can Benji be in more videos?
That came up a couple times and I think it's cute.
Again, not too serious questions here today.
But the answer is yes!
We will bring Benji into more videos, starting now.
Benji!
Can you believe this is a six month old Blue Heeler puppy
just chillin like a villan?
Hey, can you said hi to the camera?
Wanna come up here? (pats leg)
No. Benji! Come here.
You're such a good dog.
Yes you are.
Thumbs up to dog lovers and animal lovers
out there, every where.
If anyone is concerned about my voice,
I think its just because I had coffee,
an Americano this morning.
I don't think anything's wrong with it
but, I anticipate that someone's gonna bring that up.
Subscribe to the newsletter if you haven't already.
Subscribe to the channel, duh! If you haven't already.
Invite your friends.
Thank you so much for sharing the channel
with your loved ones.
We have definitely heard your requests.
We're gonna go into more in-depth questions in the future.
We have free yoga videos coming at you every Wednesday.
May is almost up. (blows out) Woo!
In June, we're gonna kinda embrace fitness.
So, I definitely love to talk about the integrity of yoga
and honor the history and the philosophy of yoga,
but, I just want to let you know right now that in June,
we're gettin fit.
We're kinda doing a fitness focus and so we have some
ideas on how to do that with you.
We're definitely going to bring EMPOWER back and
we want to invite you to do that with us.
Even if you've done it already, we're gonna talk more
about that later.
We'll work together as a kula, as a group.
So don't make any other yoga challenge
or fitness plans for June.
I invite you to get fit with us and we're basically
just going to kind of heed the call or answer the request to
get fit for the summer and I want to do it with you.
So in June, we're going to get sexy
basically is what I'm trying to say.
Just kidding.
Thank you so much for all your questions.
I look forward to having more conversations with you.
We have so much going on.
I just invite you to stay connected,
keep checking in with me and I'll keep cheeking...(laughs)
Keep checking in with you.
That's it for the vlog today.
We have a new video that I'm really excited about
coming up next week.
And, I'll see you on the mat.
I guess that's it for now, love you guys so much!
Take good care.
Namaste.
(light guitar music)