While yin yoga is made up of long held poses, you don’t necessarily need a long time to get the benefits of this practice. If you only have 15 minutes this morning, try these 5 poses out.
Hold each one for about 2 minutes a piece. No props needed.
1. Reclined Butterfly – Lay back. Bring the soles of the feet together to touch, dropping the knees out to the side. Bring the arms down by the sides or bring them overhead for more opening in the chest. Breathe in and out through the nose. Release tension from the jaw and facial muscles.
2. Reclined Pigeon – Cross the right ankle over the left knee. Flex the right foot. Pull the thigh into the belly. Keep your head and shoulders release to the mat. Using minimal arm strength to pull the legs in.
3. Laying Spinal Twist – Wrap the right thigh further over the left thigh. Moving the hips to the right. Drop both knees to the left. Open the arms out into cactus shape. Maybe gazing over the right shoulder. Stack right hip over the left. Making space between the hip and shoulder on the right side.
Repeat 2 and 3 on the other side.
4. Sphinx – Roll over onto the belly. Extend the legs back behind you. Bring the feet hip width apart. Come up on the forearms, with palms flat to the floor. Roll the shoulders back. Reach the heart forward. Keep chin parallel to the ground. Push the pubic bone into the floor to flatten the back. If there is any tension and pain, walk your arms further out.
5. Wide-Legged Child’s Pose – Push the hands into the floor to lift the hips up. Bring the big toes together and widen the knees as much as comfortable. Press hips back to heels. Fold down. Lift out of the low back. Press shoulders down to give the neck space. Melt the chest to the mat, softening between the shoulder blades.
These 5 poses come from a 15 minute yin yoga morning practice on my YouTube channel.
Namaste,
Kassandra
