- What's up, everyone. Welcome to Yoga with Adriene.
I'm Adriene.
Today, on the Foundations of Yoga series,
we have goddess pose, or god pose,
or, why can't it just be goddess pose
and the guys definitely do the goddess pose?
I mean, it's 2015. You know?
We can all tap into our inner goddess.
Anyway, this is a fierce pose.
Who cares what it's called.
It's an awesome pose to strengthen the lower body.
Get that yoga booty that everyone's talking about.
And, tone.
Everything, really.
But also I love this pose because it's super fierce.
It invites warmth, which is great in the cold seasons.
It's also great if your mind is just kind of
a blender.
It's really great to just kind of focus,
concentration and breath,
really get into your core energy
and find what feels good.
So let's learn it from the foundation.
Let's hop on the mat and get started,
a goddess pose.
(relaxing guitar)
Alrighty, so let's start in a mountain pose.
Bring your feet together, stand up nice and tall.
Bring the hands together at your heart.
Take a deep breath in.
Exhale. Long breath out.
Inhale. Deep breath in.
Exhale. Hands to waistline.
Deep breath in. Lift through the front body.
Deep breath out.
Just sneaking in a little breath here.
Inhale in,
and on your exhale step the feet out wide.
So we're gonna step the feet out
about four feet, actually, you know,
this is gonna be different for everyone,
so go ahead and send your arms out
and about underneath your wrist
is a great place to align the heals or the ankles.
Great. Then bring your hands back to the waist.
And we're gonna turn the heals in and the toes out.
So the toes are gonna point
towards the corners of your mat, here.
It's about 45,
but don't get obsessed with the degree here.
Just kind of pay attention to what's going on
in the feet,
the ankle.
Let that information travel up through the bones
and muscles of the legs,
and then to the pelvis.
Very important here.
Bring your hands back to the waistline.
Ready?
And we're gonna tuck the pelvis,
so soft bend in the knees here as you do that.
So just, right, we're working foundation,
so really building from the ground up here.
So again you can lock the knees out just a hair
so you can notice, oh yeah, I'm gonna softly bend the knees
and allow the pelvis to tuck in,
so we kind of bury the tailbone here.
The tailbone goes down.
The front body lifts up.
And here we are. Ah.
Close your eyes if you're felling brave,
and just notice what's going on with the feet.
Are you kind of crashing into the big toe,
or the ball joint of the big toes?
Can you roll out to the outer edges of the feet,
and try to even it out,
so that we're spreading through both
the inner arches and the outer edge.
Then, best you can,
draw energy up from the arches here as you tuck the pelvis
and begin to bend the knees a little bit deeper.
Hands still on the waistline, here.
Great, now, the knees are gonna wanna roll in,
but we've already done our foundation work
on the feet.
So keep maintaining
that strong awareness
in all four corners of the feet
so that the knees can stay
in line with the heels.
So you might just take a quick peek down, my friends,
and see if you can see your big toes.
Now, go ahead and straighten for a second.
Let's be real.
As we work this, you're not gonna nail it right away,
because maybe the hips aren't warm.
Maybe you've been practicing this another way
for a while.
Maybe this is brand new,
so try to enjoy just the experience
of learning the foundation,
and I think you'll grow your practice
in a way that feels good.
That way, and also you'll wanna return to your mats,
and you'll wanna take on the challenge of Asana.
With the right intention, okay?
So it should be fun.
Should feel good and it should be fun.
So try not to be hard on yourself.
If you're like, ho,
my hips.
So let's go through that little diddy again,
spreading awareness through the feet,
all four corners.
Then soft bend in the knees
so that we can tuck the pelvis.
Bury the tailbone. Lift the front body.
Heart stays lifted.
Hands on the waistline here. Bend the knees.
Now this time we're gonna keep traveling up,
so we're pressing into all four corners of the feet,
spreading awareness, particularly to the outer edge too
as we draw up from the inner arches,
so that the knees don't collapse in.
Now, this does take a bit of flexibility in the hips.
Lots of strength.
This is a great toner for the whole lower body. So good.
For trimming and toning the lower body.
Really the whole body,
but we'll continue the journey up.
Tops of the thighs, guys.
Thigh bones are kind of wanting to roll in
with the feet,
but because we've done such a great job on our feet,
tops of the thighs are able to roll out,
or start the process, right?
Now we're getting in deep to this plie here.
Hoo, my legs are talking.
This is a fierce pose.
Lean into it. Hug the lower ribs in.
Hands are still on the waistline.
Beautiful. Slowly release.
Here we go again.
Connect to the feet.
Soft bend in the knees.
Top the pelvis, lift the heart.
This time we're gonna send the arms out wide,
inhale in,
exhale, bending at the elbows,
palms face forward,
shoulders and elbows in alignment.
So this is kind of the traditional version of this pose.
Here we breathe in deeply.
Exhale completely, staying connected
from the soles of your feet all the way
to the crown of the head.
Take one more deep breath in here.
Tops of the thighs are rolling down.
Tailbone down. Front body lifts.
And then exhale, release.
This time bring your hands to your heart. Catch your breath.
So without a doubt, this pose is a challenge
for the body and also the mind.
Right?
Let's try again.
Ready? Inhale.
Keep the palms at the heart center this time.
Exhale. Going through your feet.
Drawing energy up from the arches.
Bending at the knees.
Tops of the thighs roll out. Tailbone tucks under.
Front body lifts. Lengthen through the crown.
Maybe, this time.
Just maybe,
you sink a little deeper.
Imagine leaning up against the wall.
The head over the heart,
the heart over pelvis here,
so what tends to happen is this.
See if you can bury the tailbone underneath
a little bit more and lift,
so you might not go as low to start.
Deep breaths here.
If you're feeling crazy,
you can bring the hands to the waistline here.
You got it.
If you're feeling brave, open out.
Lift from the armpit chest.
Connect to your strength.
Maybe you sink a little bit deeper.
One more breath. You got it.
Stick with it.
And then gently release.
Hands to the heart. Straighten the legs.
Deep breath in.
Exhale. Let it go.
Shimmy the feet back underneath you.
Mountain pose.
Awesome job.
All right, my friends.
So, that was goddess pose or god pose
or tap-into-your-inner-power pose.
Awesome work.
Again, this is a great way to learn the poses
if you're going to public class,
or maybe you just started a home yoga practice.
Welcome, yay.
Foundations of Yoga series is your friend.
It's an index there.
It's free for you to use
to take the time and slow it down
and make the poses your own,
and of course, build them in a safe,
and happy, friendly, loving way.
Right? Be good to your body.
So, comb through the other foundations if you're interested.
Let me know how it goes.
If you have any questions or comments about goddess pose,
leave them down below.
Be sure to subscribe to the channel
if you haven't already,
and I'll see you next time.
Take good care. Namaste.
(relaxing guitar)