25-Minute Yoga to Remind You of Your Strength

At some point when I was running around doing a bunch of people’s work for a project that was supposed to be supported by an entire group, I thought, “Wait a minute. Why am I in this by myself?!  Then I remembered something that I’d heard from someone a few years prior that basically asserted non-reciprocal relationships are abusive relationships.

WOAH. Wait. You mean cleaning up other people’s messes and doing everyone else’s work isn’t my job?

After examining the boundaries that I had—and hadn’t—set in my relationships, I realized that I’d already been doing this work in my movement practice. On days when I feel a little low, I take a spicier class to shift my energy. When I feel ungrounded and anxious, I take yin and restorative to shift my mood. I utilize discernment when I choose what type of yoga practice I need in order to meet myself where I am rather than shoving myself into a practice that doesn’t serve me that day.

I had already honed my ability to lean into my agency. If I could do this in relationship with my own body, I figured I could definitely do this with others.

The movement of yoga offers us an embodied practice of remembering how we can be off the mat—especially during obligatory and stressful situations, such as the holidays, that can make us feel overwhelmed and disempowered. In those moments, we can remind ourselves that we have the power to say no to others and yes to ourselves. Yoga can remind us that we have power.

Yes, it can be scary to create a new boundary just as it can be intimidating to hold a pose for a long time. Yes, it can be frustrating to get into disagreements with people over how you want to spend your time just as it can be annoying to try postures that your body doesn’t want to move into. Yet we still show up for ourselves, exploring and moving with curiosity, because that’s what we do.

At one time, you didn’t know these postures and perhaps you struggled with them. Maybe some of these poses are frustrating to you. But what is for sure is that at there was a time when you didn’t even know what yoga was and now it’s a language that you speak with fluency. That happened because you chose yourself and your practice over and over again. You are capable. You are powerful. You are allowed to choose ease.

The following yoga practice asks you to listen to your body by remaining in long-held yin yoga poses and also finding your flow with a sequence of standing poses. Remember to listen to your needs, shake up what’s not showing up for you in the way that you want, and then allow yourself to rest and receive as you integrate the beauty and power of your decisions. Let your practice feel like coming home to yourself.

25-Minute Yoga to Remind You of Your Agency

The following poses are a mix of new and old, yin yoga stretches and standing poses that are sometimes called different names in different styles of yoga. Tend to your needs by having some props on hand to support yourself, including blocks, a bolster or stacked pillows, and a blanket.

Tadpole | Child’s Pose | Balasana

Begin your practice by grounding yourself. Kneel on your mat and widen your knees to whatever degree invites sensation in the inner thighs. Bring your upper body forward in Child’s Pose. You can take support beneath your forehead or arms to create the stretch where you need it. You can also slide a blanket beneath your knees for cushioning. Rest here for 3 to 4 minutes.

Release the pose in any way that feels good to your body.

Sleeping Swan | Pigeon | Eka Pada Rajakapotasana

Bring your left knee, shin, and foot in front of you and keep a bend in your knee. Adjust your shin so it’s working toward being parallel to the short edge of the mat and you notice sensations in your left buttock. Extend your right leg straight back toward the bottom of the mat in the supported yin version of Pigeon Pose. Fill any places where your body is floating above the mat with support to remove any work on the part of your body. I take a block beneath my midsection and a block beneath my chest. Stay here for 5 minutes.

Rather than releasing fulling, move right into Dragon Flying High.

Dragon Flying High | Low Lunge | Anjaneyasana

Step your left foot forward in between your hands in Low Lunge. If you want to create more space between your torso and thigh or experience more sensation along the front of your right hip, add blocks underneath your hands. Shift both hips forward until you get to your Goldilocks position of just the right amount of sensation in the front right hip. Stay here for 3 minutes.

Take a moment to sense the residue of the poses on the first side. Release the pose in any way that feels comfortable for you.

Seiza | Thunderbolt |Vajrasana

Sit back on your heels in Seiza or Vajrasana or come into any sitting or kneeling position that feels comfortable. Pause here a few breaths.

Then repeat Sleeping Swan, Dragon Flying High, and Seiza on the other side.

Dangling |Standing Forward Bend | Uttanasana

Come to standing and then take yourself forward into Dangling, or a Standing Forward Bend, and allow your upper body to give into gravity while your lower body resists it. Let go of all muscular engagement. Welcome stillness. Stay here for 2-3 minutes.

Sun Salutation A (Surya Namaskar A)

Begin your Sun Salutation with mindful awareness that you’re transitioning from a cooling practice to a heating practice. Come to Mountain Pose (Tadasana) at the top of the mat.

Inhale, reach your arms to the sky in Upward Salute (Urdhva Hastana)

Exhale, forward fold into Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana).

Inhale, lift halfway while pressing your hands to your shins and lengthening the back in Standing Half Forward Bend (Ardha Uttanasana).

Exhale, step or hop back into Chaturanga. I like to take a full cycle of breath in Chaturanga so as not to rush it.

Exhale, lower all the way down to the mat. Inhale, lift your head and chest away from the mat as you press the lower body down toward the mat in Cobra (Bhujangasana).

Exhale, Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana). Utilize the strength of both your upper and lower body in this inverted triangle.

Inhale, step forward into a halfway lifted position.

Exhale forward fold.

Inhale, root down, rise up, raise your arms toward the sky.

Exhale, hands to heart center and then return to standing with her hands together or at your sides in Mountain Pose.

Repeat the Sun Salutation as many times as you’d like in order to build heat, flow, and heightened awareness. Enjoy the familiar movement as you link the poses together. I like to initially linger in each pose for 3 breaths, then moving through the flow again pairing one breath with one movement.

Warrior 2 | Virabadhrasana II

From Mountain, bend your right knee to bring the thigh toward parallel to the mat, externally rotate your right leg from deep within your right hip. Step your left leg back toward the short edge of the mat, tracking your right heel with your left arch. Widen across the chest as you extend your arms parallel to the mat in Warrior 2.

Reverse Warrior | Viparita Virabhadrasana

Keeping your right knee bent and your left leg straight, reverse your Warrior by drawing your right arm toward the sky. You might enjoy binding your left arm behind your body in Reverse Warrior.

Triangle | Trikonasana

Ground through both feet and straighten your right leg. Hinge your torso to the right, bringing your right hand to your shin or a block. You might also wrap your right peace fingers around your right big toe. Take whatever variation of Triangle Pose allows you to feel expansive and open across the chest.

Half Moon | Ardha Chandrasana

Bring more awareness to your right foot and shift your weight there. Lift your left leg and reach it toward the sky. Broaden across the chest as you reach your arms in opposite directions, balancing on the standing leg, in Half Moon Pose.

Side Lunge | Skandasana

With awareness, place your left foot down on the mat and bending your left knee until your seat comes near the mat. Keep extending your right leg out toward the front of the mat as you shift onto your right heel in a Side Lunge. Bring your chest upright and find stability here with your hands together or on the mat or blocks.

Standing Wide-Angle Forward Bend | Prasarita Paddotanasana

Bring your feet parallel to the short edge of the mat or pigeon toe your feet and send your seat toward the sky as you lean forward into a wide-legged standing forward bend. Bring your hands to the sides of your feet or your peace fingers to your big toes. Draw your elbows away from one another.

Repeat this flow as a moving meditation on your other side.

Seated Forward Bend | Paschimottanasana

Come to a seated position with both legs extended straight in front of you. Fold forward over your legs, bringing your torso toward the thighs in a Seated Forward Bend. Bring your hands to your feet, wrap peace fingers around your toes, or let your hands land wherever they land. Stay here for a while.

Reclined Twist | Revolved Jathara Parivartanasana

Lie down on your back. Feel free to stay here for a few breaths. Then move your hips over to the right and lower your legs to the left in a Reclined Twist. Add support between or under the legs to encourage release of the work, and the beginning of a shift towards rest.

Legs Up the Sofa | Ardha Viparita Karani

Take any version of Savasana of your choosing. I prefer Half Legs up the Wall by taking myself against a sofa or chair with swaddling. Bring your calves onto a sofa or chair seat that is short enough so your heels don’t float in the air. Wrap a blanket around your entire body and let yourself release the work of your practice so you can integrate it.