- (laughing) Is that downward dog?
Okay, I can't, like, put my heels down.
I'm not going to be like Simone Biles on the balance beam,
but I don't know, there's room for improvement.
(mellow dance music)
- I started doing yoga in 2020
with my good friends at Well+Good L.A.
I loved it.
I want to improve my mental health.
I want to improve my body.
And I decided I was going to join this challenge
to do some more of that.
- I'm dedicating myself to doing five minutes of yoga
for the next 30 days, at least.
I am a very inflexible person.
Not happening.
Like that, that hurts.
Something tells me yoga will help with that.
- I like yoga a lot,
and yet I don't do it nearly as much as I should.
I also had an injury where I fell two years ago
and I fell on pavement.
I've always wondered if I stuck to it consistently
for like 30 days or two weeks, even,
if I would see a noticeable marked change
in how my hips feel.
- I like routine.
I hope to honestly, at the end of 30 days, be like,
"Dang, that was wonderful, let's do 30 more."
- Yeah, I'm gonna give it a real college try.
'Cause the tightness is really annoying
and it's making me feel, like, 30 years older than I am.
- (grunts) Day one, let's go!
(upbeat music)
- Does yoga improve focus too?
Because I'd like that.
I feel like I'm always all over the place
and I need to take a second to breathe
and not be like (panting) which I'm already like.
Ah, stop, okay, focus.
Okay, sorry, bye.
- Day one, and the procrastination already so real.
I have been doing work, I've been shooting.
I even went for a walk.
I still haven't brought myself to do my yoga.
Let's see if it's dark by the time I finally do.
All right, I called it.
It's dark out, but I did my yoga.
I did it.
I'm proud of myself.
(upbeat music)
- Currently I'm on my mindful minute.
I think yoga has really just helped me kind of destress
when I've had a long day.
But yeah, I feel really good.
Yoga is really been helping me Zen out.
I'm excited to get back to it tomorrow morning.
(phone ringing)
- Oh my gosh, I'm getting a freaking call.
What is this, Twister?
Come on, girl.
- [Instructor] Release.
Left hand to the right leg.
- Yoga's hard.
- [Instructor] Gentle twist.
- What the heck?
I did realize yoga is way more difficult than I expected.
It wouldn't be a challenge if it was easy.
- I picked a 40 minute one,
it was a refresh and detox session, and it was fantastic.
I could feel like a tightness in my chest
earlier in the day, just from stress.
And I felt that kind of melt away while I was doing yoga.
So, so far, so good.
(uplifting music)
- [Instructor] You could draw the breath into the chest.
- I have to go to the bathroom.
(laughs)
- I almost didn't do my yoga today.
But right before bed, I did a little five-minute practice.
And you know what?
I'm super glad for it.
I'm also really glad to know that five minute practices
can be something that can keep up your routine.
You know what I mean?
Like, five minutes?
We all have five minutes.
(upbeat rock music)
- Today I did an hour long one
and my hips are feeling really good,
but like other things I don't normally think about
is just like breath, balance and stillness
are things that I really struggle with.
And I found myself being more aware of that this time.
I was actually really excited because
I feel like my balance is even in a week getting better.
(mellow dance music)
- Up at through day nine, have been doing yoga post workout.
That's been wonderful because it's a nice cool down for me.
Some of the stretches are still hard for me,
but I'm noticing improvement, which is nice.
- So today's yoga workout focused on tension.
I felt like I had a lot of tension
in my neck and lower back.
So I was able to work that out a little bit.
Did about 15 minutes this morning.
Feeling better.
(heavy rock music)
- Did I miss a couple days?
Maybe.
And I'm sick, I'm sorry, I know.
I've just been, like, very out of it.
Hey, there's plenty of time left.
I'm a second half kind of gal.
I'm really going to shine
in the second half of this challenge.
- Today was the first day I woke up and I was like,
"Oh, obviously I'm going to do my yoga."
Like I didn't even think about it.
I was just like, that's what I do in the morning.
And I didn't do it 'cause I had a meeting this morning.
But all day long, I've just been thinking yoga, yoga, yoga.
It's slowly becoming expected in my brain.
So that's kind of cool.
I feel like the habit is starting to form.
- Day 15.
We are at the hump.
I think I'm getting a little more flexible
and better at each yoga move.
Something I'm going to improve on is I feel like
I'm still not like wholly focused.
I don't think I have the breathing part down at all.
Whenever she's like, "Okay, breathe in, breathe out."
I'm like, "Oh, I've been holding my breath."
(mellow dance music)
- So I just got done doing yoga with my roommate, Cannon.
Had to beg him to do it.
I was like, "Yo, come on man.
Let's just knock this out."
- Yoga is a beast.
- It's not as easy as it looks.
- It's not a real real sport.
I can't keep my back straight, breathe.
- Flexibility's a real thing.
Like you don't realize how unflexible you are
til you do yoga.
- We're doing better.
This area, I feel like can go down way more.
I can like put my elbows down.
You can twerk.
Ahh, yes he can!
- I just did a yoga practice.
I'm sweating.
It was 36 minute practice.
I only made it 20 minutes in.
I couldn't focus my mind.
I'm supposed to be going to a dinner in like an hour.
So still got my yoga practice in.
I'm going to count it as a win.
It was still 20 minutes, and I did get a workout already.
I got a good stretch.
- Did some yoga by the beach today.
Feeling very centered, feeling very grounded,
ready for the week.
Just exactly what I need on a Sunday.
I mean, take a look about, all of this beauty.
- I have noticed that when my hip has been really tight,
I will walk a shorter step on my right leg.
But since doing all this yoga
and like being consistent with it every day,
I have actually noticed a lot less tightness
and a lot less of a jolt on the right leg.
That's the best way to explain it.
If it hadn't been for this challenge,
I would never have been paying
this much attention to my hip pain.
When I'm on the mat, I'm like in tune with my body
and where I feel tight and where I feel relaxed
and where I feel sore.
So it's just so many good things.
- Wednesdays are my busiest days of the week,
did my breathing exercises this morning.
I'm feeling centered and I'm just really ready to
take on every task that I have today.
I'm thankful because using yoga to find that balance,
to find that that breath,
that I just have me focused in and calm
during moments where I start to get
a little bit overwhelmed.
(upbeat rock music)
- I want my yoga practices to be what I want them to be.
If I don't feel like doing some crazy heated yoga,
I don't feel like doing a ton of like standing poses,
that's fine.
Do the yoga that you want to do.
If that's like, low to the ground,
if that's like just a lot of stretching,
if that's like a lot of meditation-based, fine.
Because all of it has a purpose.
You can't go wrong, basically is what I'm saying.
I think I've officially gotten wiser in this challenge.
- We're literally coming down the home stretch.
Okay, pun intended.
We're going to do a 10 minute yoga full-body stretch
for tension relief.
'Cause I've had a little built up tension.
- Everyday yoga will probably not be my reality,
but actually, the five minutes,
even the three minute stretches,
that can become my reality every day.
I know I need yoga in my life,
because I'm more in tune with my breath.
I'm more in tune with my body.
And no, during the 30-day challenge
did not completely fix my hip pain.
If anything, it made me more aware of it.
So I'm going to start physical therapy.
But the fact that yoga can give me
like a temporary alleviation of the pain is really nice.
- Random things like downward dog,
like lifting one hand up and twisting my body,
like stuff like that, I would fall over before.
So much easier now, just from a little practice.
People, come on.
Are you kidding me, I can touch my toes now.
Hello, he can touch his toes now, fully.
- I'm very proud of myself.
I enjoyed this challenge so much
that I'm rewarding myself by getting rid of
my old thin, uncomfortable yoga mat.
I'm treating myself to a new yoga mat.
And like I said before, number one rule,
if you miss a day, that's okay,
but don't let it be the excuse to not do it the next day.
And there is no wrong yoga.
If you're spending time connected to your breath
and your body and your mind, you're doing it right.
- So Ben invited me to this yoga event by Walk Good
that he's a part of, and I'm excited to go check it out.
Sounds fun.
Also at the beach.
I mean, come on.
Holler.
- Hi, my name is Etienne Reese,
And I'm the founder of Walk Good L.A.
And we are a family that brings people together
from all walks of life to fight for racial equity
through the arts, health, and wellness.
We have a weekly yoga class called Breathe Good,
and we started last year, June 13th, 2020,
in response to the killing of a Amad Aubrey.
I thought that fighting and taking the streets
and protesting was not enough.
We needed a space for black and brown folks alike
to come together and have a space of healing.
Yoga is a Sanskrit word derived from the word yuj,
which means to unite.
So what better way to come together than to practice yoga?
The biggest thing that I've learned with yoga
is that once you work on yourself,
your whole environment changes.
It's not a performance.
It is a practice.
Just you showing up to your mat
means that you have done yoga.
It might not be for you, but I would suggest that you try.
Because there are a lot of healing benefits.
- Did my last day of yoga at the beach with Walk Good L.A.
I feel good, man.
I feel good about myself.
I feel focused, grounded.
Yoga is it's definitely great for your mental health,
your physical health.
And it takes a lot of strength, man.
If you're watching this and you just think, like, "Ahh..."
No, it's a lot.
- What a frickin' way to end it.
Walk Good L.A., are you kidding me?
This is so much better than me doing yoga alone
in my sad dark apartment.
This was such incredible vibes.
It was so motivating.
(uplifting music)