A Simple Yin Yoga Practice to Help You Feel Calm, Grounded and More Like Yourself Again

This yin yoga practice focuses on poses that help you feel more grounded and connected to yourself. It also draws your attention to the root chakra, or muladhara, located at the base of the spine and releases tension in the lower body, including the hips, thighs, even the ankles and feet. A lot of our work with the root chakra relates to a sense of safety, security, belonging, and abundance. Essentially, these yin yoga for root chakra poses help relax the physical body so that we can get more into the emotional body.

Think of the root chakra as a theme for introspection, regardless of whether you understand or believe in the energetics behind them. According to yoga philosophy, the root chakra relates to our sense of safety, security, and grounding. It’s essentially our connection to the physical world.

An underactive root chakra can present as feeling sluggish and insecure. You might experience fear of abandonment or the feeling that you’re always trying to fill a void. Conversely, if the root chakra is overactive, it can translate to letting the ego take up a little too much space and being somewhat boastful. We’re looking to find that middle ground.

In yin yoga, you’re not trying to make the stretch super intense or chase the most sensation. You’re trying to find a stretch, relax into the pose as best you can, and let gravity do the work for you as you release into the pose for three to five minutes.

If you choose not to take the concept of the chakras literally, you can use the yin yoga class to connect with yourself and ask, how secure do I feel in my everyday life? How abundant do I feel? Do I feel like I belong?

Yin Yoga for Grounding + Calming

You might want to have a block or two close by for this hour-long practice.

Also, throughout class, I mention different phrases—think of them as affirmations or mantras that you can silently repeat to yourself. You don’t need to convince yourself that any of them are true for you. Your only job is to pay attention to your internal reactions and how the affirmations feel in your body.  If any of these phrases make you feel tense or uncomfortable, consider writing it down in your journal and bringing your awareness to it later so you can explore whatever resistance might be there.

Toe Squat

Come to kneeling on the mat, tuck your toes, and let your hips sit back onto your heels. You might need to move the little toe out to the side to be more comfortable. Let your palms rest on your thighs. If at any point you find that this is too intense or even painful, walk your hands further away from you and lean forward to take the pressure off for a few breaths. This can be quite a challenging pose, especially if you wear heels, but once you are in it, do your best to relax your shoulders, close your eyes, and focus on your breath.

Say to Yourself: I am safe. You might find it nice to internally repeat “I am” as you inhale and, as you exhale, “safe,” as if you are breathing the mantra.

Come Out of the Pose: Rock your weight forward onto your palms, untuck your toes, and take a breath or two here as you move your ankles and wiggle your toes.

Hero Pose With an Ankle Stretch

Moving into an ankle stretch, point your toes straight back and bring your hips to sit on your heels once more. This time, start to walk your hands behind you. This already might be more than enough stretch if your ankles are tight so you can stay here. Or try to curl and tuck the tailbone under a little and see if you can lift your knees and shins off the mat a little in a nice stretch along the fronts of your feet and ankles. Sit tall and find your breath.

Say to Yourself: There is enough for everyone, including me.

Come Out of the Pose: Release your shins back down to the mat.

Deer Pose

Slide your ankles off to the side and align your right shin parallelish to the top of the mat. So your knee will be in line with your hip and you want to bend the knee at about a 90-degree angle. Flex your foot.

Then align your left knee straight out from your left hip and bend that knee at about a 90-degree angle. You’re trying to press your left hip down toward the mat in internal rotation. For some people, this stretch might be intense. For others, maybe not. You can make this more intense by bringing your hands behind you and leaning back slightly as you try to ground your left hip down. Find your edge and breathe deeply.  If your shoulders are tense, try to release.

Say to Yourself: My friends and family love and support me.

Come Out of the Pose: If you were leaning back, start to walk your hands forward and lift yourself

Half Butterfly

Before going into this pose on the other side, take your right foot to your inner left thigh and straighten your left leg out to the side. Keep your hips facing forward and turn your chest more so you’re facing your left leg. You want your left knee and toes pointing upward. Start to initiate your forward fold from here, keeping your sit bones grounded. Draw your shoulder blades down your back, let your arms be heavy, and come back to your breath. Maybe you take a block or two here under your forehead or chest. The longer you hold this pose, the more your body will start to open up. Try not to force the stretch in any way.

Say to yourself: All of my needs are met.

Bring some weight back into your arms and slowly lift yourself. Then come into Deer Pose on the other side. So your left shin will be close to parallel to the front of your mat. Maybe you walk your hands behind you and lean back and find some stillness.

Say to Yourself: I attract abundance in all areas of my life.

And then find Half Butterfly on the other side.

Say to Yourself: My needs are valid.

Come Out of the Pose: Slowly straighten your legs and take any movement that feels good to you here.

Dragon Pose

I like to have the blocks somewhere close at the top of the mat for this yin yoga pose. Step your right foot forward in between your hands with your knee somewhere over the top of your ankle. Then straighten your back leg.

You can hold here in Low Lunge, which is already plenty intense, or you can intensify and take a quad stretch by bending your left knee and catch hold of your foot with your right palm in a twist. Draw your right shoulder down and away from your ear. Let your hips melt forward and down. Try to find stillness in the pose.

Say to Yourself: I can take care of myself.

Carefully release your back foot if you’re holding it. Before you move to the other side, come to hands and knees and maybe bring your hips back toward your heels or move your hips side to side. Then switch sides by stepping your left foot forward and settling into Dragon Pose.

Say to Yourself: I give and receive equally.

Come Out of the Pose: Come onto hands and knees and move in any way that feels good.

Cat Pulling its Tail

Make your way onto your back in Cat Pulling its Tail, which combines a quad and a hamstring stretch. Pull your right knee into your belly, cross it over toward the left into a twist. Then straighten your right leg over to the floor and either hold onto the shin, ankle, or foot, and then draw your right shoulder blade onto the floor. Your chest is facing still.

Stay here or bend your left knee and try to catch hold of your left foot with your right hand in a shoulder stretch. Keep trying to ground your right shoulder. This is a pretty intense pose.

Say to Yourself: I trust the process of life.

If you were holding onto your left foot, slowly let it go. Slowly unwind and roll onto your back. Then switch sides.

Say to Yourself: I am grounded and stable.

Savasana

Find your way into Savasana. Let yourself feel safe and secure. No affirmation here. Simply breathe.

Come Out of the Pose: Move in any way that feels good. Take your time as you slowly make your way to a seat. Close your eyes, lengthen through your spine, and your commitment to understanding what you need more of and what ways this might be unbalanced or stuck. Thank you for practicing yin yoga for root chakra balancing. I recommend that you take your journal and jot down any notes or insights or things that came to you during this practice so you can explore it later. Thank you for practicing with me and I hope this brings you the grounding and calm that you need.