(upbeat inspirational music)
- Hey everyone, Carlie Carpio here
from Holistcally Dope to bring you another mindful moment.
We wanna start our day off grounded, centered,
checking in with ourselves to see how we feel,
and then very intentionally using our breath,
our movement, and our minds to help get us started
on the best foot possible.
So I invite you to join me,
find any chair, if it's your couch, if it's a love seat,
if it's a dining room table chair
which is what I have right now,
and we'll get started.
So sit up as tall as you can,
put both of your feet flat on the floor.
If you feel like, "Man, I need a little bit
"of extra energy today, I'm ready to receive,"
you can put your palms face up.
If you're like, "No, I'm pretty good,
"I feel good where I am," you can put them face down,
or if it feels good, you can rest your left palm
on top of your right palm
and allow your thumbs to touch,
resting right on top of your legs.
So which ever hand position you'd like to start on,
we want to start with our breath,
then we'll move into a mini-meditation,
and then some movement to get you started with your day.
So I invite you to close your eyes
or soften your gaze. (relaxing meditative music)
And just take a moment to settle into yourself.
Sitting up tall, not allowing those shoulders
to slouch forward, but lengthening the crown
of your head up towards the sky.
Take a big inhale through your nose,
big exhale out of your mouth.
So two more big clearing breaths just like that,
big inhale through your nose
big exhale out of your mouth.
Last one, biggest inhale,
try to expand that belly, big inhale
really big exhale out of your mouth.
Then you get begin to breathe in through your nose for one,
two, three, four, holding it at the top
for six, five, four,
three, two, one,
begin to exhale for eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
Begin to inhale for one, two, three, four,
holding at the top, noticing how your body feels
when it's filled with air.
Begin to exhale for eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
Begin to inhale for one, two, three, four,
holding it at the top, relaxing any tension
from your forehead, in your jaw, your palms,
and then begin to exhale
as slowly as you possibly can
for three, two, one,
begin to inhale, filling your belly
for one, two, three, four,
holding it at the top for six, five,
four, three, two, one.
Begin to exhale for eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one,
inhale a little bit deeper for one, two, three, four,
holding that breath at the top,
enjoying this pause in between breaths,
being intentional in energy,
and then begin to exhale for eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
Last big breath in for one, two, three, four,
holding it at the top, relaxing your face,
begin to exhale for eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
Keeping your eyes closed or your gaze soft,
gently allow your breath to return back to normal.
Just checking in, noticing how you feel.
Starting at the top of your head,
doing a body scan, noticing where you find any stress
or tension, and not judging where you find it,
but gently releasing it as we continue
on through the body,
so starting, let's start in your forehead,
releasing any tension in your brow.
Relaxing your cheeks and your jaws.
Removing your tongue from the roof
of your mouth if you find it there.
Relaxing your neck, or the need
to be have it held in any certain way.
Allowing your shoulders to melt down
away from your ears towards the floor.
Noticing how it feels
as your next inhale expands across your chest,
and noticing how it feels as your chest falls on the exhale.
Noticing how your next inhale expands your ribs
and your diaphragm.
And noticing how it feels
as it falls on the exhale.
Trying to expand that area right beneath your belly button
on your next inhale.
And exhaling all the air out of your body
on your next exhale.
Relaxing any tension through your arms,
your forearms, your palms, and through each
and every one of your finger tips.
Noticing how it feels where you're grounding
down into the chair.
Relaxing any tension on the top
of your legs or your quads
through the backs of your legs, your hamstrings.
Continuing on through your knees,
down the front of your shins
and through the back of your calves.
Circling around your achilles,
up your heels, through the arches of your feet,
the balls of your feet,
and then through each and every one of your toes.
Relaxing your forehead, releasing your jaw,
make sure you're still breathing.
And gently bringing your attention
and your awareness back to this moment.
It's okay if it wanders,
that's a good thing, that means you're alive.
But gently bringing your attention
and your awareness into this moment,
and thinking of something that you are so grateful for.
If it's a person, if it's a place,
if it's a moment in time, an experience,
and allowing that gratitude to fill you.
And then whenever your ready,
gently blink open your eyes.
I love to start with breath work
because if I'm really anxious,
if my mind is bouncing all over the place,
it's one way scientifically
that helps us get out of our fight or flight
and back into the present moment,
and so thank you for taking a moment
out of your day to breathe with me
and the American Heart Association.
I have two more exercises for you,
maybe three more exercises for you,
and then we can get started with our day.
So, I invite you to join me,
come to standing.
Step out a little bit away from your chair,
you can move it off to the side,
we'll still need it.
But bring those feet a little bit more apart
than hip distance, a little bit wider.
Take a big inhale, sweep those palms up,
and then exhale, squat down, let those knees go
out over those toes.
Inhale sweep it up, you can walk it out a little bit wider,
'cause I need to, exhale it down.
Inhale it up, exhale it down.
Three more big breaths here.
Inhale all the way up,
exhale down, two more,
inhale, reach it, grow as tall as you can.
Exhale it down, last one, inhale all the way up,
exhale all the way down, and then inhale back to standing.
Flip those palms and bring them
all the way back by your side.
It's almost like you're going through water.
And then shake it out.
Okay, so the next one is a tree pose.
So the first variation is to bring your heel
of your right foot up to about your calf.
You can bring your hands into your heart center,
pressing them together, keeping that core tight.
If you're like, "Carlie, I can do a little bit more."
Maybe you bring that foot up to your calf,
you can practice here.
If you still feel like you need a little bit more,
you can always pick up that foot,
you can always grab onto your chair if you need it,
and place it on the inside of that thigh,
and then bring your hands to your heart center.
So whichever variation you're in,
if it's all the way up, if it's at your calf,
if it's on the floor as a little kick stand,
that's enough for today.
And we'll take five deep breaths here.
It helps if you find a point out
in front of you on the floor that's not moving.
If you wanna make it a little bit harder
for yourself, I challenge you to close your eyes,
and if you don't want to keep your hands
at your heart center, you can have branches
that wave around in the wind.
Two more big breaths wherever you are.
And then exhale, slowly release down to the floor,
shake it out, we'll come into it on the other side.
So same thing on this side,
you can do a little kick stand,
right there keeping your toes on the floor,
your heel will touch your calf.
You can bring your foot up to your calf,
or maybe you pick it up and bring it up
to the inside of your thigh.
You can bring your hands to your heart center
and press them together
to get a nice little shoulder warm up,
or you can bring them out to your sides
and let your branches blow in the wind.
We have five big breaths wherever you are.
If you wanna close your eyes
for a real balance challenge, you can try that.
Two more big breaths here.
You can move them around, branches can move.
Last big inhale here,
and then exhale, gently release it down towards the floor.
Shake it out.
Okay, the last one, we've got grounded,
we've found a little bit of balance,
now we wanna get energized for our day.
So, we're gonna use our right hand first,
then our left hand, then our right foot,
then our left foot, with me?
Okay, so let's start,
five, four, three, two, one.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Right foot, five, four, three, two, one.
Left foot, five, four, three, two, one.
Count down, four, three, two, one.
four, three, two, one, four, three, two, one,
four, three, two, one.
Three, two, one, three, two, one,
three, two, one, three, two, one.
Two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one.
One, one, one, one, one, one, one, one.
Again, thank you for joining me.
My name is Carlie Carpio from Hollistically Dope.
Thank you for taking a mindful moment
with me and the American Heart Association
to get centered, to get balanced,
and to get energized for your day.
(inspirational music)
