Get Your Savasana On With This At Home Yoga Practice

Having an at home yoga practice is a great way for you to maintain a consistent practice even when life gets a little hectic. The best remedy to maintain and strengthen your yoga practice is by incorporating some of your favorite poses that you can practice anywhere, anytime.

Practicing yoga a few times a week in the comfort of your home is a great way to start a regular practice or add to your current routine. Personally, I have several different yoga flows depending on how busy my life is, including an at home yoga practice that I try to get around to a couple times a week.

Check out these poses and expand your at home yoga practice as you feel your flexibility and focus expand.

Cat pose/Cow pose

This is a wonderful pose to warm up the spine and open the chest. The combination of these two poses allows you to massage your lower back and belly.

Sanskrit: Marjariasana-Bitilasana

Step by step:

1. Start on your hands and knees, with your wrists, elbows, and shoulders stacked in a straight line, keeping your knees hip distance apart.

2. Inhale as you let your belly sink down and set your gaze to the ceiling (Cow pose).

3. Exhale as you round your spine and draw your chin to your chest (Cat pose).

4. Continue flowing through Cat pose/Cow pose with each inhale and exhale.

5. Practice this between 30 seconds to a minute.

Downward-Facing Dog

By creating a firm foundation from your hands to your feet, Downward-Facing Dog is a wonderful pose to warm up the spine and the hamstrings.

Sanskrit: Adho Mukha Svanasana

Step by step:

1. Start on your hands and knees then tuck your toes under.

2. Lift up through your hips, drawing your hips to the sky. As you lengthen through your spine and legs, draw the energy down into your hands and feet–equally distributing your weight.

3. Hold this for three to five breaths.

One-Legged King Pigeon pose

Pigeon pose is a deep hip opener that also opens the shoulders and the chest. These particular areas hold a lot of tension, so it’s important to stretch them out when they begin to feel tight or restricted.

Sanskrit: Eka Pada Rajakapotasana

Step by step:

1. Beginning in Downward-Facing Dog, extend one leg behind you, bending your knee and drawing it to the mat behind your wrist.

2. Place your foot closer to your hip for a gentle stretch and further away for a deeper stretch.

3. Lengthen through your spine, and fold forward as far as feels comfortable.

4. Hold this for three to five breaths on each side.

Tree pose

By rooting down through your standing foot and extending your arms to the sky, Tree pose is a great way to settle your mind and bring awareness to where you are feeling off balance.

Sanskrit: Vrksasana

Step by step:

1. Starting from a standing position, with your hands at your heart center, set your gaze on a non-moving focal point.

2. Bring your right foot to your left ankle or upper thigh.

3. Extend your arms to the sky and open out.

4. Hold this for three to five breaths on each side.

Bound Angle pose

Bound Angle pose is a wonderful asana to help you tune into your mind and breath all while stretching your spine and adductors.

Sanskrit: Badda Konasana

Step by step:

1. Start by sitting on your mat.

2. Draw the soles of your feet together, allowing your knees to open to the edges of your mat.

3. Place your hands at your feet and inhale as you lengthen through your spine, exhaling as you fold forward.

4. Hold this for three to five breaths.

Corpse pose

Corpse pose is the final pose in any yoga class and in a lot of ways, the most important. It allows the benefits of your asana practice to flow through your body, enabling the ability to rest without the need for action.

Sanskrit: Savasana

Step by step:

1. Simply lay on your back with your arms at your side and feet hip distance apart. Close your eyes.

2. Pay attention to the natural flow of your breath by acknowledging your thoughts as they come and sending them on their way.

3. Hold this for three to five minutes.