As we slowly get back to our lives post-confinement, you may find that it’s harder to keep up with some of your healthier habits. With more work creeping up, more frequent office commutes and daily house chores along with family responsibilities, it may even feel impossible to make any time for exercise. But me-time is very important and you need to be able to take atleast 5 to 15 minutes to yourself, because investing in a happier and healthier you, will in turn benefit everyone around you.
So if you want to keep up with a healthier routine, while having less time, here are 5 beginner-friendly yoga poses to help. You can either do them first thing in the morning or before going to bed, as long as you do it on an empty stomach (so roughly 2 hours after you have eaten).
If you are familiar with yoga or already have a routine in place, I might not be teaching you anything new and these will probably feel pretty easy. But before starting please keep the following in mind:
- Do what you feel comfortable doing, there is no need to push yourself too hard
- Listen to your body and respond to what it needs
- Focus on your breathing and ease yourself into the poses
These 5 Yoga poses along with some light stretching prior, and a short relaxation period should take you around 15 to 20 minutes. So lay down your mat, take a deep breath and get started!
- The Cow Pose/Bitilasana
The Cow Pose lightly stretches your neck and torso while giving a gentle massage to your spine and belly organs.
You can follow the steps for the cow pose here: https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/types/backbends/cow-pose/
- The Triangle Pose/Trikonasana
The Triangle Pose will stretch your legs and torso while promoting deep breathing. It will strengthen your leg muscles and can help relieve lower back pain.
Follow the steps for the Triangle Pose here: https://www.yogajournal.com/video/extended-triangle-pose/
- The Mountain Pose/Tadasana
The Mountain Pose is one of the key poses to help you with balance and alignment and with time can help to correct your posture.
Follow the steps here for the Mountain Pose: yogajournal.com/video/mountain-pose/
- Child Pose/ Balasana
This pose is usually done in between harder poses, as it gives you the ability to let go and relax. It creates a nice stretch in the hips and thighs and helps calm the brain.
Follow the steps here for the Child Pose: https://www.yogajournal.com/video/child-s-pose-cues/
- The Tree Pose/Vrikshasana
This Tree Pose will establish better balance and strength in the legs, while also helping you to feel more centered and grounded.
Follow the steps here for the Tree Pose:https://www.yogajournal.com/video/tree-pose/
If you want to mix it up and try other poses, you will find a collection of videos here for different routines that you can do under 20 minutes: https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-videos/yoga-videos-under-20-minutes/
Should you only have 5 to 10 minutes, instead of mindlessly scrolling down on your phone (yes we are all guilty), try to squeeze in some breathing meditation in the Sukhasana pose. Put on some relaxing music (I found this great playlist on spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7feqserrlLnpnvo7uRa5Wn ), and focus on breathing in and out slowly, letting your thoughts come and go.
I am not in any way shape or form a yoga expert or an instructor, in fact I am a beginner myself, who just started doing yoga last year and is slowly reaping the benefits of having a daily 10-20 minutes routine.
I really wanted to highlight the importance of having 5 to 10 minutes to yourself, to help calm your mind and maintain your body. I really hope this small article helps and that it can give you some guidance. However if you want to keep up with a yoga program or get more training, check out the following yoga trainers: Yoga avec Emilie, B.healthy par Sabrina and Mindbodyagnieszka.
Love & green vibes,
Vaneeda
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