Take 5 Yoga for Stress, Balance, and Healthy Fat Loss

Good morning from beautiful St. Lucia. I’m going to do a series this morning called take five. I actually made it up on the way walking to the beach this morning, but it’s what I’ve been practicing all week here, which is just hold every position for five breaths. So, we’re going to start first with mountain pose. Remember, this is the foundation. Feet are imprinted into the ground. Sitting up nice and tall and hold for five breaths. Just let the sounds take over focusing on a goal for every one of these breaths. And then we’re going to inhale your arms up. Five breaths. Inhale up. With every breath, get a little deeper into the pose. So inhale. And if your shoulders hold you back for bringing your arms all the way up, do what your shoulders can do. So maybe this is all they can do and that’s your five. But you will notice the more that you do this, the more that that evolves and changes over time. So maybe eventually you’ll be here, maybe you’ll be here, or maybe you’ll be here or here. It doesn’t matter as long as we keep practicing. We’re going to move into ragd doll for five breaths. Take a deep breath in. Exhale over your legs. You can bend your knees if you need to sway in the wind for five breaths. Feeling where you might be a little bit tighter. Thinking about how that’s going to impact your movement for the day without being focusing on the negative. Focus on what you can do to be kind to yourself today. Now, walk your hands out. This is where we begin modifications. Okay. So, here we are. This is downward-f facing dog. This can be sometimes too intense on your shoulders. So, if it is, move into child’s pose. And if this is too intense on the knees, move into puppy pose. Okay? But whatever pose you’re in, let’s hold it for five breaths. As soon as you see a pose and you go, “My shoulders can’t do that.” And you’re like, “I can’t do this.” That’s when we lose. You’re winning. If you recognize that modifications are the key to sticking with this body, respect where you’re at today and just move with where your body allows you to move. Inhaling and exhaling for five breaths. Now, we’re going to take the left foot up. And again, if this is too much, stay in child’s pose or puppy’s pose and join us anytime you can. Take your left foot all the way up to your hands. Bring your back knee on the ground and then inhale up. Hold it for five breaths. Maybe you get a little bit deeper. Maybe you say, “This is too much.” and you need a break and you move into child’s pose or puppy pose, but as long as you stick with it, it’s all that matters. Maybe you need to open up your arms. Good. Now, step back into downward-facing dog. Exhale into this position for five breaths. Take your left leg up and swing this foot all the way up. Back knee to the ground. Inhale your arms up into the air. Focusing on your breath. Five breaths. And the wonderful part of take five is you just go back and do it again. Five breaths. Or maybe you decide there’s one position you want to stay with. Stay there for five. Take a deep breath in. And I’m going to take my uh recovery pose into child’s. Remember, you can also move into puppy pose for five. That is the beginning of take five.

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