15-Minute Yoga to Help You Slooow Down (No Standing Required)

Sometimes the most difficult distance to travel is the space between the chaos of your everyday life and your yoga mat. But when you make it, that’s where you can simply be. Here, you can tend to your inner world and tune out literally everything else.

That’s something yoga teacher and new mom Lauren Ikeda emphasizes in her yoga classes. “Sometimes we need to recharge our batteries, right? We need to ground, slow down, and draw our attention inward,” shared Ikeda on her popular yoga YouTube channel that features various sequences for de-stressing. It makes sense that Ikeda also gravitates toward teaching hatha yoga, which focuses on pairing intentional breathing with slow movements.

In this 15 minute yoga practice, Ikeda shares a sequence of grounding hatha yoga postures to settle your body and mind in the present moment.

15-Minute Yoga to Help You Slooow Down (No Standing Required)

Chances are you’ve heard the phrase, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” This 15 minute yoga practice is one way to fill it. You’ll move through side stretches, forward folds, and hip stretches—all while staying low to the mat. You don’t need any props, but you may want to sit on a folded blanket or bolster if that’s more comfortable.

1. Three-Part Breath (Dirgha Pranayama)

1. Find a comfortable seated position, perhaps cross-legged on a bolster or folded blanket. Rest your palms on your thighs. Soften your shoulders away from your ears. Close your eyes or softly gaze straight ahead.
2. Slowly inhale through your nose. Feel your belly, ribs, and chest expand. As you exhale through your nose or mouth, feel your chest, ribs, and belly deflate. Repeat 3-5 times at your own pace.

2. Seated Neck Stretches

1. Lower your chin toward your chest and pause for 1-2 breaths. Then lift your chin toward the ceiling and pause. Repeat for a few rounds.
2. Rest your arms at your sides with your fingertips or palms on the mat. Tilt your head to the right, drawing your ear toward your shoulder. Stay here or bring your right hand to the left side of your head and apply light pressure. You want to feel a stretch but not a strain. Stay here for 1-2 breaths, then release.

3. Side Bend with Legs Crossed 

1. Come into a cross-legged position if you aren’t already. Place your right hand on the mat about 12 inches outside your right hip. Extend your left arm overhead and reach toward the right side. Stay here for 3-4 breaths.
2. Lower your left hand to the mat about 12 inches away from your right hand. Fold forward and relax your head and neck in a twist. Stay here for 3-4 breaths.

4. Forward Bend With Legs Crossed

1. From the twist, keep your body folded forward as you walk your hands in front of you and away from your body. Keep your head and neck relaxed. Stay here for 3-4 breaths.
2. When you’re ready, walk your hands back toward your body and return to an upright position. Place your hands on your knees.

5. Seated Cat-Cow

1. Inhale and arch your back, lift your chin, and draw your shoulders away from your ears in Cow Pose.
2. Exhale as you draw your navel toward your spine and lower your chin toward your chest in Cat Pose. Repeat Cat-Cow 2 more times.

6. Seated Twist

1. Reach your arms overhead and twist toward the right, bringing your left hand to your outer right leg. Reach the crown of your head toward the ceiling and gently bring your gaze over your right shoulder. Stay here for 3-4 breaths.
2. Inhale and face the front of the room, reaching both arms overhead. Exhale and return your arms to your sides

7. Seated Side Bend

1. Keep your left leg where it is and extend your right leg straight out to the side. Flex your right foot by drawing your toes toward you.
2. Place your left hand on the mat about 12 inches outside your left hip. Extend your right arm overhead and reach toward the left. Keep your gaze straight ahead or turn your head to peek underneath your right arm if it’s comfortable. Stay here for 3-4 breaths.
3. Reach your right arm toward the ceiling and return to an upright position with your arms by your sides. Then place your right hand about 12 inches outside your right hip, extend your left arm overhead and reach toward the right. Breathe here.

8. Head to Knee Pose

1. Lower your right arm to your outer right leg, gently folding forward over your right leg in Head to Knee Pose. (Your head doesn’t need to touch your knee!) Stay here for 3-4 breaths, then slowly roll up and return to an upright position. Keep your legs where they are.

9. Baby Wild Thing

1. Place your left hand outside your left hip. Press your left shin and your right foot into the mat as you lift your hips and extend your right arm overhead, reaching toward the left side in a kneeling version of Wild Thing. Stay here for 2-3 breaths.
2. To come out of it, lower yourself to the mat.

Return to a cross-legged position with the opposite leg in front. Repeat all poses on the opposite side.

When you’ve completed the practice, return to a cross-legged position. Take a few additional Three-Part breaths, closing your eyes if it’s comfortable. Inhale and feel your belly, ribs, and chest expand. Exhale and feel the air release from your chest, ribs, and belly. Slowly open your eyes and notice whether you feel a little more grounded, connected, and ready to return to your day.