Are you feeling stressed out, anxious, overwhelmed, or maybe a little blue?

This 5 minute yoga routine for stress relief will help you find your center and provide relief from all the stresses that come with everyday life.

Yoga is one the single best practices you could implement into your life to stay calm and centered throughout any situation.

It naturally decreases cortisol, promotes mindfulness, and brings you inline with your breath, which are all vitally important to the way we process the emotions and thoughts we experience throughout the day.

The best thing about this simple routine, is that can do it any time of day, and it only takes 5 minutes!

Since this is a stress relief yoga routine, this will be a lot more slow paced than most yoga sequences. Be prepared to hold each pose from 30 seconds to one minute, and fully surrender into each pose.

For those of you looking for a longer 20 minute stress relief yoga routine, check out the video below to follow along!

 

 

1. Ragdoll

1. Start in Mountain Pose and take a deep breath as you sweep your arms up above your head and slowly let them come together at your heart.
2. As you exhale, bring your hands to your heart and fold slowly as you let your hands come to the floor. Let your body just sink into itself.
3. You can grab opposite elbows here, shake your head from side to side, or sway back and forth. Just feel your body and do what feels relaxing and effortless.
4. Breathe in and out deeply and stay here for 5-10 breaths.

 

 

2. Downward Facing Dog

1. From Ragdoll, walk your feet back one foot at a time until you are creating an upside down V with your body.
2. Ground through your hands and engage your arms, core, and legs to even out the distribution of your weight. Press through your heels.
3. Inhale and exhale in this pose deeply, sinking your heart closer towards your thighs with every exhale.
4. Stay here for 5 breaths.

 

3. Pigeon

1. On your inhale, lift your right leg in Downward Dog and then bring it through to the top of your mat, landing your right ankle behind your left wrist. Your leg does not need to be in a 90 degree angle here, do what feel comfortable and safe for your knee, ensuring you are not putting any stress on it.
2. Untuck your back toes and sink your hips into the floor. Make sure your hips are squared and that one isn’t lifting higher than the other. If it is, use a blanket to even them out.
3. You can choose to stay here, or on your next exhale, fold over your bent leg.
4. Stay here for 5 breaths.

 

4. Seated Head to Knee

1. From Pigeon, swing your left leg around so it is in front of you, keeping your right leg bent and your right foot resting on your left inner thigh.
2. Flex your left toes back towards you and maintain a very slight bend in your knee. 
3. Inhale and you lift your arms up and rotate your torso so your navel lines up with you left leg. Exhale as you fold over your left leg.
4. Stay here for 3 breaths.

After this, return back to Downward Facing Dog and repeat Pigeon and Head to Knee on the other side before moving on.

 

5. Easy Seat

1. From Head to Knee Pose, come into a simple cross legged position.
2. Ground through your sits bones and lengthen up through your spine. If you find it hard to sit upright, place a blanket underneath you.
3. Place your hands on your knees and drop your shoulders away from your ears. Picture a string pulling you from the crown of your head to help you sit more upright.
4. Stay here for 5 breaths, breathing equal counts in and out.

 

 

6. Easy Seated Twist

1. From Easy Seat, inhale as you lift your arms overhead, then twist from your abdomen to your left using your core.
2. Exhale as you let your hands fall to the left side of your body, looking over your left shoulder if it feels comfortable for you.
3. With every inhale, lengthen up through your spine, and with every exhale, twist a little deeper.
4. Stay here for 3 breaths then repeat on the other side.

 

 

7. Reclined Bound Angle

1. Come back to neutral in Easy Seat, then slowly roll down to your back using your core.
2. Uncross your legs and bring the soles of your feet to touch. Bring them out away from your body so your legs are forming a diamond shape.
3. Rest your hands on your thighs or on the ground, keeping your head in neutral.
4. Allow your body to fully relax here, breathing in and out for 5 breaths.

 

8. Legs Up the Wall

1. From Reclined Angle, find a wall or anything steady near you in which you can support your body weight.
2. Start out sideways by the wall, then carefully bring legs up to rest on the wall, rotating your torso so your sit bones are on the wall as well.
3. For more support, place a pillow or blanket underneath your hips.
4. Allow everything to relax, letting your hands rest by your sides.
5. Stay here for 10 breaths.

 

 

9. Reclined Spinal Twist

1. Come back to the ground and bring your knees into your chest. For this twist, you can choose to keep one leg straight or keep both legs bent, whatever feels best to you.
2. On your next exhale use your hands to bring your legs over to the left to twist.
3. Bring your arms out to form a T shape on either side for a nice shoulder stretch and allow your gaze to fall to the right.
4. Stay here for 3 breaths then repeat on the other side.

 

10. Savasana

And now we come to the final resting pose, Savasana.

1. After your twist, allow your body to come back to neutral and let everything release to the ground.
2. Simply allow everything to rest. Notice how your body feels after this practice, scanning from the tips of your toes to the crown of your head.
3. Focus on your breath, not trying to make the breath even, but just noticing it. Stay here for as long as you feel your body needs.

You can complete this sequence anytime you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or just in a funk. It only takes five minutes and you will feel so much relief afterwards!

Remember to always incorporate your breath into the poses to obtain the most benefits and provide the most relief.

Here is an infographic to help you remember the steps!

 

We’d love to hear from you and about how you felt after trying this sequence! Let us know in the comments below!