Yoga Sequences

Wish you could jump inside the mind of a master teacher as she designs a sequence? Here, this teacher’s teacher gives us a look at how she created a SmartFLOW sequence to help you keep your hips free and your spine healthy—both on and off the mat.

We're not surprised Downward-Facing Dog took the lead as the most-searched yoga pose on Yoga Journal’s site in 2018, since it's the foundation of many sequences. But the six poses to follow were unexpected.

It's not too late to read the top Yoga Journal articles of 2018.

Even after a disagreement has ended, the effects can linger. Here’s how to foster communication and love after a fight.

No bolsters, blankets, or blocks? No problem. Here’s how to set yourself up for a supremely relaxing practice, minus the props.

You change as you get older—and your yoga practice should, too. Here’s how to tweak your Sun Salutation during three key phases of your life.

Falling out of Tree Pose? Learn how to build a solid foundation from the ground up with these yoga sequences that target the leg muscles.

Amplify your yoga practice with these yoga sequences to stretch and sculpt the glutes for a stronger backside.

Want to learn how to go with your gut more often? Wish you were better able to listen to that little voice inside you, telling you what you should do? This 10-pose home practice can help you get there.

This 12-pose sequence will help you remember what the season is really all about.

Before you know it, Chaturanga will be a breeze.

Looking to cultivate more connection with yourself—and with others? Want to experience the oneness versus otherness so many yoga teachers talk about? This sequence will show you how.

Keep your abs and stomach strong and fit with these yoga poses to fire up the core and strengthen the rest of the body.

From easing low back pain to improving digestion, twists are incredibly beneficial. Here’s how to deepen any twist by using a prop you definitely have at home.

Q+A With Olivia Hsu on Climbing, Yoga & CBD

Who says breast cancer awareness should stop after October. Here’s how you can do your part by simply posting a yoga pose on Instagram.

Unsure what Sanskrit word your yoga teacher is calling out during class? Learn the foundational beginner yoga poses every yogi should know as you continue to develop more skill and flexibility in your practice.

Looking to release tension or tightness in the neck and shoulders? These 10 sequences will help support your yoga practice with poses to release pain and strengthen the upper body.

Use these exercises to experience a different kind of strength and ease in your body.

Try these eight ways to practice with a dowel and watch it quickly become your new favorite yoga prop for back pain.

Interested in starting a consistent yoga practice, but not sure where to start? These 30 yoga sequences designed by experienced yoga teachers will help you target specific areas of the body to release tension and increase flexibility.

Strengthen your core and build upper-body strength so you feel more comfortable in any inversion.

Grab a resistance band and challenge your strength—rather than exploit your flexibility.

It's important to protect your wrists in any yoga pose—but Wheel Pose is notorious for causing wrist pain or soreness. Here’s how to be mindful of the risks to your wrists.

When the clocks go back an hour, there’s a good chance fatigue, fogginess, and restless energy in the evenings will set in. Here’s a flow to help your body find a new rhythm.

Sticking to something you set out to do—especially when it challenges your go-to habits—takes discipline. Here are four ways to strengthen your determination by the end of this week.

Here’s how one yoga teacher’s relationship with her mother has evolved thanks to their shared yoga practice. Plus, a customizable sequence to inspire you to practice with your mom, too.

This at-home yoga practice from Kristin Calabria will help you improve physical and mental stamina, promote stability in your core, and further your path to self-discovery.

Whether you’re looking to find more compassion in your life or simply want to counteract the effects of sitting at your computer all day, this supportive and strengthening yoga sequence will awaken your heart, body, and mind.

Fall is a time of transition—and transformation. Here’s a flow to help you handle anything that comes up this season, and release what’s no longer serving you.

If this week’s news cycle retriggered your own traumatic experience, you aren’t alone. Here, Sarah Platt-Finger shares her own empowering path toward healing and a grounding sequence to help you reclaim a sense of steadiness and ease.

The RESTORE yoga program was developed by researchers and master yogis to treat chronic lower-back pain in service members and their families. Try it at home by gently practicing the following poses.

This Kundalini Yoga kriya, or sequence, from teacher Karena Virginia will strengthen your aura and protect you from bad energy.

This yoga sequence will help awaken your inner muse. Active poses open you up to get creative juices flowing, while restorative ones give space for your inspiration to bloom.

Feeling down or anxious about the end of the weekend? Try one (or all!) of these uplifting yoga poses to change your mood—stat.

With only a couple of weeks to train for the race, John Douillard and his family used these Ayurvedic techniques to get to the finish line.

The pop star and frontwoman shares how her daily practice inspires her creativity and makes her feel protected.

Here's how Yin Yoga could help you find more balance in your practice and your life.

YJ senior editor Meghan Rabbitt caught up with YogaGlo's Kathryn Budig and life coach Ash Cebulka to learn how to navigate change with grace. Plus, Kathryn shares four poses for embracing transition.

This sequence is full of hip-openers and spinal twists to help you balance energy and nourish your qi.

Looking for a fun summer challenge? Here are 10 advanced poses perfect for tackling on the beach, or wherever your summer takes you.

Deskbound at the office or at home? Starting to slouch? These strengthening and lengthening poses will help you sit with support and ease.

Yoga teachers, we want to see your best sequence! Find out how to submit yours for a chance to share it with our readers and win a gift card you can spend on new clothes, props, and more!

These simple moves will powerfully balance your legs, pelvis, and spine whether you're at your desk, out and about, or on the mat.

Whether you have chronic low back pain, herniation, osteoporosis, or trouble with your SI joints, these supported variations will help you enjoy the benefits of Triangle Pose with ease.

Here are some inspired ideas to help you adapt your yoga practice if your Stanabhara (Sanskrit for breast weight) requires adjustments.

This Pride month sequence cultivates self-compassion and self-acceptance. Not only will it help you heal, it will inspire you to help others in their journey toward self-love.

Seems like there's no better time than International Day of Yoga to remember our interconnectedness with all human beings—and do something to help promote the well-being of everyone. Here, master teacher Amy Ippoliti shows us how.

Cultivate compassion, embrace your imperfections, and find more ease of being by using props in this supportive sequence.

You don’t need a juice cleanse or cabbage diet to detoxify this summer. This sequence will improve your digestion, boost your strength and flexibility, and leave you feeling great.

It’s easy to get discouraged when you slide back into old patterns. Encourage patience for yourself and others with this balancing sequence.

Practice this hip-opening sequence regularly to help you release energy from unprocessed grief.

Stay on course with this sequence to help you break habitual patterns and develop the strength and courage to face life's challenges.

These simple postures from Josh Summers will also help enhance the circulation of this vital energy.

Practice at home on the regular? We do, too! While this is a great option, streaming yoga without a live teacher can lead to common mistakes. Top online teachers share what they think we do wrong and give their tips on improvements we can make.

Learn what muscles are activated when you jump back to Chaturanga or Plank Pose, and how to do it safely.

Join NYC yoga teacher Kat Fowler in this sequence to develop courage.

Yoga is thousands of years old, but it's also constantly new and changing, as creative teachers discover genius ways to enhance or modify traditional poses. We asked 9 of our #YJInfluencers to share their favorite "new" or innovative pose, why they love it, and explain how to get into what may be a somewhat unfamiliar shape.

Spring is a time of regeneration, growth, and expansion. However, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), spring can also be a time when feelings of irritability, frustration, or anger sink in. This free-flow sequence can help.

This empowering sequence from #YJInfluencer Denelle Numis will help you overcome fear and take on your next big challenge.

If you practice Kundalini Yoga, you know you have 10 bodies, not one. Here's the lowdown on all 10 bodies, plus a sequence to awaken them.

Even a few minutes of fascial-release work can have a profound effect on your practice and well-being. Yoga teacher and model Ariele Foster walks you through this simple lower-body routine to target common trouble spots and feel instant release.

Learning to love our bodies through all of its stages is at the heart of this sequence. Let yoga teacher and model Erica Mather walk you through this self-love practice, and find out how to work through your body's limitations—whatever they may be.

Yoga teacher and YJ cover model Sara Clark shares her journey toward courageousness, plus an asana practice and mantra to help you feel confident in your own skin.

Prenatal yoga teacher Allie Geer demonstrates a self-myofascial release practice to relieve tension and pain during pregnancy and enhance mobility.

When overcome by feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy in response to hard-to-swallow current events, yoga teacher (and mom) Nancie Carollo turns to the potent practice of surrender.

Yoga teacher Nikki Myers shares the sequence she finds most effective for recovering addicts.

This gentle way of accessing the six bandhas (energetic locks) during your practice will help you experience more freedom in your body and bliss in your life.

Think you’ve learned everything Down Dog has to teach? Baron Baptiste says you might be surprised if you try harnessing the power of play on the mat.

Alan Finger reflects on his journey from young yogi to creator of ISHTA Yoga.

Find freedom by settling into a meditative state with this gentle asana practice.

Getting your body, mind, and heart to agree is easier than you may think. Baron Baptiste says it starts with your feet.

“Practice and all is coming?” Maybe not Chaturanga, actually, says Yoga Deconstructed® creator Trina Altman. Here she explains how she finally built enough strength to do the pose both safely and pain-free.

Try this chest- and heart-opening flow to connect to your authentic Self.

Strengthen your shoulders and back as you move step by step into Visvamitrasana.

YJ Influencer Laura Burkhart offers the story of her own chronic pain and hip injury as a caution to yogis and encourages you to get honest about your own practice.

Want to kickstart your practice in 2018 but need guidance on finding the right yoga challenge? Take the quiz to help break through the wealth of offerings, and set yourself up for a great 2018!

In this excerpt from his new book Yoga Therapy: Foundations, Methods, and Practices for Common Ailments, Mark Stephens offers methods for warming up and massaging the wrists to reduce pain in yoga practice.