10-Minute Power Yoga to Energize Your Day

This 10-minute power yoga flow is designed to energize you for whatever comes in the day ahead. It’s a fast-moving morning session that crams a lot of strengthening for your shoulders, back, and core into a short amount of time. The idea is to challenge yourself as much as you can during your yoga for energy practice to set yourself up to continue with that mindset throughout your day. Prepare to put in some effort through Hovering Tabletop, Plank, High Lunge, and twists in this power yoga practice—and to feel the rewards afterward.

10-Minute Power Yoga for Energy to Last Throughout Your Day

This sequence doesn’t require props although you are welcome to use blocks anywhere you like during your power yoga practice.

Seated Cat-Cow Variation

You’ll be bearing a lot of weight in your hands during the rest of the practice, so you can give your wrists a break as you take a seated variation of Cat and Cow.

Begin either kneeling and sitting back on your heels or sitting cross-legged. Bring your arms straight in front of you and bend your elbows 90 degrees. As you inhale, take your arms wide in a cactus shape and lift your chest.

As you exhale, round your back, tuck your chin toward your chest, and bring your elbows together. So inhale to open as you keep the elbows lifted and exhale as you round and pull your belly button toward the spine. Take a few more seated Cat and Cow like this.

Seated Wrist and Forearm Stretches

Still sitting, reach your arms toward the ceiling, spread your fingers wide, and open and close your hands as fast as you can. You’re trying to work the muscles along the forearms although you’ll probably also feel it in the backs of your hands as well in your fingers.

Seated Side Stretch

Interlace your fingers and release just your index fingers. Cross one thumb over the other and keep reaching overhead as you bend to one side and try to push out through your opposite hip. Then lean to the other side.

Hovering Tabletop to Plank to Downward Dog

Lean forward, bring your hands to the mat, and come into Tabletop with your hands more forward of your shoulders than usual. Come into a hovering Tabletop position with a flat back by lifting your knees a couple inches off of the mat.

Inhale as you straighten your legs and shift forward into Plank.

Then exhale as you bend your knees and come back through Hovering Tabletop and into Downward-Facing Dog. Repeat that a few times. So bend your knees and come into Hovering Tabletop, inhale as you straighten your legs into Plank, exhale as you come into Downward-Facing Dog. Keep the core really strong and engaged and imagine that you’re hugging a beach ball between your upper arms, so you’re strengthening and engaging through your shoulders at the same time as you’re trying to keep a flat back. Do one more of those.

Three-Legged Dog Heel Lifts

Hold in your Downward-Facing Dog. Shift your weight onto your left foot and reach your right leg toward the sky. Keep it straight and your hips squared to the mat. Lift your left heel off the mat and then lower it back down a few times, trying to keep your right leg nice and high and steady.

Twisting Low Lunge

Step your right foot forward in between your hands so your feet are hip-distance apart to help with your balance. Keep your back knee lifted and your left hand stays on the mat as your right arm reaches toward the sky.

Twisting High Lunge

Maintain this twist as you push your feet into the mat and use your core strength to lift yourself upright. Your right arm will be reaching back and your left arm will be extending forward in a Twisting High Lunge.

High Lunge

Inhale as you reach your arms up overhead into a classic High Lunge.

Leaning High Lunge

Exhale as you tilt your chest forward and reach your arms back in a leaning High Lunge. Keep a generous bend through your front right knee and reach the crown of the head forward.

Cobra Pose

Exhale as you bring your hands to the mat, step your right foot back to meet the left, and lower down to your belly. Inhale as you press your hands to the mat beneath your shoulders and lift your chest a little or a lot in Cobra Pose. Exhale as you tuck your toes, bend your knees, and lift yourself back to Downward-Facing Dog.

Repeat Three-Legged Dog Lifts, Twisting Lunges, and Leaning High Lunge, Cobra Pose, and then skip Downward-Facing Dog in favor of Child’s Pose.

Child’s Pose

From Cobra, press your hips back into Child’s Pose and, if you’d like, bring your palms together, bend your elbows, and take your thumbs toward the back of the head. You’re slowing down your breath here.

Seated Twist

From Child’s Pose, straighten your arms and come to a seated position with your  legs straight in front of you. Sit nice and tall and keep your left leg straight as you bend your right knee and step your right foot to the outside of your left leg. Think of pushing down through that right foot in your Seated Twist. Wrap your left arm around your right thigh leg, hug your right thigh toward your chest, and use this hugging to lift yourself a little taller. Your right fingertips are on the mat behind you and let them support you as you keep your hips facing forward while you’re twisting toward the right. Draw your right shoulder back. There’s no slouching or rounding here. Stay lifted and tall.

Baby Wild Thing

Come back to center and face forward. Bring your right foot to the inside of your left thigh. Keep your right hand behind you and push down through your feet and right hand as you lift into Baby Wild Thing. Reach your left arm alongside your head as you lift your hips as high as they’ll go for a big side body stretch. Keep pushing through that left foot.

Release yourself to the mat and repeat the Seated Twist and Baby Wild Thing on the other side.

Seated Stillness

Come to a seat in any way that feels comfortable for your hips and lower back. During morning classes, I usually don’t practice Savasana as it can be tempting to fall back asleep. Instead, we’ll finish sitting tall, closing your eyes, and taking a few deep breaths, in and out through your nose. Maybe you choose one word that you’d like to use as your intention for the day.

As you sit in stillness, notice the effects of your practice, even though it was just a short amount of time. Stay here as long as you can.

Thank you for doing this 10-minute power yoga for energy practice with me. I hope you feel really good in your body and that you experience a boost of energy to help you feel ready to tackle the day ahead.