15-Minute Flow to Ease the Tension

Muscle tension and tightness can make your body feel like a less-than-pleasant place to be. Whether you’re experiencing stiffness borne of too much sitting or just a weird night’s sleep, muscle issues can manifest as pain, stress, or general unease. Relief can usually be found in a slow-moving yoga flow that helps loosen tension in your physical body as well as your head space.

Each pose in the following practice encourages you to move playfully, letting your curiosity and intuition lead you to the exact stretches you need for your specific type of muscle tightness. The full 15-minute sequence features a mini flow within it—repeat as many times as desired—or needed—to release and relax.

15-Minute Flow to Ease Your Muscle Tightness

Don’t worry about props for this class. All you need is yourself, a mat, and space to move.

Cow Pose

Begin in a Tabletop position, hands beneath shoulders and knees underneath hips. Spread your fingers wide. With your next inhalation, lower your belly and lift your chin and chest in Cow Pose.

Cat Pose

With your exhalation, tuck your chin and round your back in Cat Pose.

Move through this pattern of movement with the pace of your own breath for a total of 5 times. You can bring some fluidity and intuition to your movements any way you like, maybe starting by rocking your weight slightly from front to back or side to side. Feel free to stay in either pose for more than a single breath if it feels right to you.

Child’s Pose Variation

With your next inhalation, move through another Cow Pose. This time, as you exhale, rock your sit bones back to hover over your heels in an active variation of Child’s Pose, keeping your heart and gaze forward.

Baby Cobra Pose

With your next inhalation, round forward as you shift through Cat Pose. Exhale as you lower onto your belly with your legs straight behind you. Inhale as you press your palms into the mat and lift your chest any amount that is comfortable in Baby Cobra Pose. Take 1 full breath here.

Broken Wing

With your next exhalation, lower your chest to the mat. Send your right arm straight out to the side in a T-position. Plant your left hand directly beneath your left shoulder and press into it as you roll onto your outer right hip and side, bending your left knee and sending your left foot to the mat behind your right leg in Broken Wing.

Take 2 full rounds of breath here.

When you’re ready, come through center and repeat on the opposite side.

High Cobra Lifts

Come back through center so you are lying on your belly. Place your fingertips just to the sides of your shoulders and tent your hands.

As you inhale, press through the tops of your feet, thighs, and fingertips to rise into High Cobra Pose. If this feels like too much for your lower back, walk your hands forward to lessen the backbend. You can also keep a bend in your elbows.

With your next exhalation, slowly lower all the way back down to the mat. Repeat this pattern of movement 3 times, moving with the pace of your own breath, rising to High Cobra with your inhalation, lowering with your exhalation.

Kneeling Side Plank

When you’re ready, come back to hands and knees. Bring your knees together in the center of the mat and pivot on them to bring your feet toward the right side of your mat and your shins parallel to the short side of your mat. allowing your feet and knees to stack. With your next inhalation, press into your right palm as you bring your left arm toward the sky in a kneeling variation of Side Plank.

Then turn your lifted palm face down toward the mat and reach your arm over your head. Stay here for 3 full breaths.

With your next inhalation, shift your gaze down and place your left hand on your mat. Pivot your shins through center and to the left side of your mat to repeat this pose on the opposite side.

Downward-Facing Dog

With your next inhalation, land your hands to the mat and pivot your shins back through center. Exhale as you curl your toes under and lift your hips in Downward-Facing Dog. Stay here for 5 rounds of breath, pedaling out your feet, swaying your hips, or grounding yourself in stillness.

Plank Pose

With your next inhalation, lift your heels and round your back as you shift forward to Plank Pose. As you exhale, lower your knees to come back to hands and knees.

Repeat the following poses in a breath-led flow:

• Cow Pose
• Cat Pose
• Child’s Pose Variation
• Baby Cobra Pose
• High Cobra Lifts 
• Kneeling Side Plank
• Downward-Facing Dog

Plank Pose

From Down Dog, round forward once more to Plank Pose. With your exhalation, lift your hips back to Downward-Facing Dog.

Repeat this pattern of movement 3 times with your own breath, creating waves with your body.

From Downward-Facing Dog, lower through Tabletop to repeat your flow once more, adding the Plank/Down Dog waves at the end:

• Cow Pose
• Cat Pose
• Child’s Pose Variation
• Baby Cobra Pose
• High Cobra 
• Kneeling Side Plank
• Downward-Facing Dog
• Plank Pose
• Downward-Facing Dog

Seated Twist

When you’re ready, walk your feet forward to meet your hands and lower down to a comfortable seat. Inhale your arms toward the sky, exhale as you twist toward your right, landing your right fingertips behind you and your left hand to your right thigh.

Stay here for 3 cycles of breath.

Inhale back through center, exhaling and twisting toward your left.

Closing

Slowly unwind with your next inhalation, reaching your fingertips toward the sky. Exhale to land your hands to your thighs, facing up or down, and turn your focus to your inner world. Close your eyes and breathe here for 1-5 minutes (or as long as you’d like).

To close your practice, bring your hands together at heart center and thank yourself for showing up on your mat to address your muscle tightness. Take note of how your body feels as you move through the rest of your day.