Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been trending in recent years for good reason: There’s scientific evidence that it can help you do everything from build muscle to improve your heart health. Yet we don’t always incorporate this kind of cardiovascularly challenging exercise into our regular routines.
Enter the following HIIT yoga sequence, which can help you build strength, burn calories, and feel empowered—all in 20 minutes.
HIIT Yoga Practice Tips
- With each HIIT-inspired exercise, aim for 30 seconds of slow, mindful motion, followed by 20 seconds of a faster pace, and finally 10 seconds of high-intensity movement in which you move as strongly as you can while still maintaining good alignment. Practice each move for a total of 1 minute and then quickly transition to the next.
- If you need a break between exercises, walk in place for 1 minute before launching into your next1-minute exercise as you build your cardiovascular endurance.
- Unlike in yoga, you can breathe through your mouth whenever needed.
20-Minute HIIT Yoga to Break a Sweat
1. Mountain Pose
Stand at the front of the mat with your feet either together or hip-distance apart and your arms at your sides. Root down evenly through your feet and lift through the crown of your head as you take a few mindful breaths through your nose or mouth in Mountain Pose.
2. Fists-of-Fire Flying Chair
Take your feet hip-distance apart. With your feet evenly grounded and toes spreading rather than gripping the mat, bend your knees. Reach your arms alongside your ears and sit back into Chair Pose . Exhale as you straighten your legs, lift your heels off the mat, and bring your fists, facing upward, to your hips. Inhale and return to Chair Pose. Repeat for 30 seconds, then begin to jump off the mat entirely on your exhalations, making sure to land with your hips back in Chair Pose. Repeat for 1 minute.
3. Twists-of-Fire Chair Pose
Come into Chair Pose. Inhale and, on your exhalation, bring your palms together at your chest and reach your right elbow toward your outer left knee. (Keep both hips sinking back.) Inhale to return to Chair Pose or stand straight with your arms reaching alongside your ears. On your next exhalation, twist toward the opposite direction (left elbow to right knee). Continue this movement, alternating sides as you pass back through the center, for 1 minute.
4. Temple Prayer Pose
Face the long side of the mat and walk your feet much wider than your hips. Turn your feet out until your toes face the same direction as your knees and bend your knees. As you inhale, reach your arms overhead in Temple Pose. As you exhale, step your left foot to meet your right foot in Chair Pose and bring your palms together at your chest. Inhale and step wide into Temple Pose; exhale and step your right foot to meet your left back in Chair Pose facing the other direction, again with your palms together at your chest. Repeat for 1 minute.
5. Ninja Lunges
From Temple Pose, turn your feet forward, so they’re parallel to the short edges of the mat. Bend your knees and move your spine and arms to the left and right in a flowing, organic movement of your choice. Be sure to draw your low belly and lumbar spine toward each other to prevent over-arching in your lower back.
6. Fists-of-Fire Flying Lunge
Come into High Lunge with your left foot forward and your feet about hip-width apart. As you inhale, straighten your legs and reach your arms overhead. As you exhale, bend your front knee and draw your hands to your hips in upturned fists. Inhale to return to High Lunge. Repeat for 1 minute. Repeat with your right foot forward for 1 minute. If needed, rest before switching sides.
7. Run the Dog
Come into Downward-Facing Dog, making sure your fingertips and palms are planted solidly and evenly on your mat. On an exhalation, lift the heel of your right foot, bend your left knee, and move it toward your left elbow; on your inhalation, return to Down Dog. On your next exhalation, come onto the ball of your left foot, bring your right knee toward your right elbow, then return to Down Dog on your inhalation. Repeat for 30 seconds. If possible, for the final 30 seconds, pick up the pace until you begin to “run” this pose, bringing your knees to your elbows on each exhale. (If “running” is too much, try this exercise on your hands and knees.)
8. Plank Twist
Come into Plank Pose, with your hands shoulder-width apart and fingers grounded into the mat. Focus on lifting your front belly, ribs, and lumbar spine for support. Stay here for a couple of breaths, then keep your feet separate as you begin to sway your heels from side to side, keeping your hips lifted and your shoulders stable. Repeat for 1 minute. (If this is too challenging to maintain without compromising your alignment, drop to your knees and instead sway your hips from side to side.)
9. Seated Shoulder Stretch
Sit on your shins with your toes untucked and walk your fingertips behind you until you feel a shoulder stretch. Gently draw your lower belly in and up for lumbar support. Take a few long, deep breaths to fill your chest. Stay here, breathing deeply, for 1 minute. If you experience pain in your knees, slowly come out of the pose and move to the next.
10. Child’s Pose
Bring your knees mat-distance apart and touch your big toes together. As you exhale, lower your torso between your thighs and place your hands on the mat alongside your body in Child’s Pose. Stay here for 1 minute or longer, breathing deeply as you take a well-earned rest.
11. Corpse Pose (Savasana)
After your heart rate slows, rest in Savasana for 5-10 minutes to really integrate the physical and mental benefits of this vigorous HIIT yoga practice. Then, set an intention to let this empowered state guide you throughout the rest of your day.
This article has been updated. Originally published October 24, 2021.