It’s no secret that the past two years have been stressful. There are numerous factors within each of our lives that have us all walking on eggshells, our minds overwhelmed, and our anxiety piqued. Do you have your jaw clenched right now? Is your tongue at the roof of your mouth? Are your shoulders tense and hiked up toward your ears? Then you need to relax.
Enter: Yoga
Whatever fancy yoga fitness photo you’ve seen on the internet that has someone looking like Elastagirl from The Incredibles — I want you to forget it for now. Sure, a well practiced yogi can pop into these poses quickly and properly (and those poses and photos have their places within yoga!), but that’s not where I want to take you today.
The poses below will focus less on the “fitness” aspect of yoga and more on the meditative and simple stretching side of things. All yoga poses play a specific role, and they are all wonderful in their own ways, but these are just a few you can turn to when you find yourself feeling stressed, defeated, overwhelmed, or anxious. The goal with these 10 poses are for you to find a stretch and to focus on breathing.
Breath is the most important part of yoga (if you ask me).
Deep, intentional, and focused breathing can calm your busy mind. Add in a simple muscle stretch and you can also find relief in your tense muscles.
10 Yoga Asanas (Poses) To Reduce Stress
Child’s Pose (Balasana)
Dos:
- Push your rear end down toward your heels
Don’ts:
- Hold weight on your neck
Breathing:
- Inhale – creep your fingers forward to lengthen the spine
- Exhale – sink your rear deeper toward your heels
Modifications:
- Use your hands as a pillow for a more relaxed pose
- You can keep your knees wide or narrow – your choice. (I like wide hips!)
Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
Dos:
- Focus your eyes on an immovable object near eye level in front of you
Don’ts:
- Put your foot on your knee
Breathing:
- Remember to breathe – this will help you keep your balance
Modifications:
- Extend your hands straight up overhead for more of an intense balance pose.
- Instead of having your foot above the knee (as pictured) you can prop your heel on the ankle with toes on the floor or bring your foot to your calf.
Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
Dos:
- Keep your weight distributed evenly in your feet
- Recognize if your pelvis is tilted forward or back and try to keep it in a neutral position.
Don’ts:
- Arch your lower back
Breathing:
- If you want to move when in this pose, on an inhale bring your arms up and extend them overhead, then on an exhale bring them back down as pictured
Modifications:
- If you want to see how upright and straight you are, do this with your backup against the wall
Easy Pose (Sukhasana)
Dos:
- Keep your shoulders back so they are in line above your hips
Don’ts:
- Drop your chin too low
Breathing:
- Focus on deep belly breathing – fill/extend your belly on and inhale and draw your navel in on an exhale
Modifications:
- Sit on a folded blanket or block so your hips are above your knees. Most people find this more comfortable!
Reclined Bound Angle (Supta Baddha Konasana)
Dos:
- Put the bottoms of your feet together a comfortable distance from your hips
- Relax your hips and legs
Don’ts:
- If your back is hurting laying flat on the ground, see modifications for this pose.
- Hold tension in your body
Breathing:
- Focus on deep belly breathing
Modifications:
- Use a block at your sacrum (as pictured here) to give your hips even more release.
- You can also lay flat on the floor, but you might want to support your knees with blocks if you do this
Plow Pose (Halasana)
Dos:
- Broaden your shoulder blades across your back once you get your feet in position
Don’ts:
- Bear any weight on your neck! The weight is on your shoulders.
Breathing:
- Make sure you are breathing when in this pose. If you can’t breathe well while in this pose, then ease out of it bit by bit or skip it all together for the time being.
Modifications:
- If your feet can’t touch the floor (and they won’t for most people) then use a chair and rest your feet on the edge of the seat
Legs Up The Wall (Viparita Karani)
Dos:
- Ground your legs into the wall
- Have your rear touching the wall
Don’ts:
- Not recommended if you have vision issues, such as glaucoma, since it is an inversion
Breathing:
- Deep belly breathing when first in this pose is very relaxing! Then move to your normal breath
Modifications:
- Put a block or folded blanket at your sacrum if you want to elevate your hips
Forward Fold (Uttanasana)
Dos:
- Keep your back as straight as possible (easier said than done! This photo is me and it’s still not perfect.)
- Bend your knees
Don’ts:
- Worry about how far you “bend.” Go to your body’s limit. Your hands don’t have to touch the floor
Breathing:
- Sink deeper into the fold on exhales
Modifications:
- You can let your head hang heavy and roll it around to release tension in your neck
- For a simpler version of this pose, lie on your back and hug your knees to your chest
Corpse Pose (Savasana)
Dos:
- Get comfortable!
Don’ts:
- Tilt your chin up. You want to lengthen your neck, so tilt it down just a bit
Breathing:
- Feel your belly expanding and contracting as you breathe. Relax your core so there is movement!
Modifications:
- Use a rolled blanket under your knees to help out your lower back if it’s bothering you
- Use a folded blanket under your head for extra cushion
Happy Baby (Ananda Balasana)
Dos:
- Rock around! Pull on your feet and find movement. Massage your back in this pose.
Don’ts:
- Pull your rear off the ground
Breathing:
- Keep it constant, consistent and normal
Modifications:
- If this is too much for you, then just bring your knees to chest and rock around to massage your lower back. This is called Apanasana.
Yoga isn’t just fancy stretches for super in shape fitness people and it’s not just meditation for monks. Yoga is for everyone and every body type! Each pose can look different for every person depending on the limits of your body. Don’t ever let that discourage you! Yoga can and will accommodate you right where you are. The two most important things to remember are: proper alignment keeps your body safe (so don’t worry about hitting the super deep Instagram worthy stretches — when you reach your body’s limit, stop there) and breathe (relax your belly and fill it with air on an inhale, then contract your belly button in to stabilize your core on an exhale). Try to focus more on what you’re getting out of it mentally than physically — that’s where the magic happens!
Have you been extra stressed lately? Will you try yoga?
Special thanks to Abby and Jeanette for being my willing photo participants and to Blue Ridge Yoga for providing the lovely studio space where the photos were taken.
