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    20-Minute Morning Yoga for the Full-Body Stretch You Need

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    woman in orange tank top and gray leggings sits in seated pigeon pose, sitting on gray yoga mat leaning back on hands, left foot on floor, and right ankle crossed over right thigh, on wooden floor in home with sliding doors and plants in background

    (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

    Published August 12, 2025 08:08AM

    This 20-minute morning yoga practice is what I consider a sweet release. It’s one of my most popular full-body stretch practices and helps you get into your hips and hamstrings as well as your shoulders and upper back.

    The practice is designed for those with some yoga experience given that some of the hip-opening stretches are fairly intense. It’s a mix of familiar yoga poses, some static and some dynamic, so you’ll hold some shapes for a little longer while you move in and out of others a little more quickly. I think you’ll feel differently at the end of the full-body stretching practice than you did before.

    20-Minute Morning Yoga for a Full-Body Stretch

    Props aren’t required although if you’d like, you can have a block close by to help make some of the poses more accessible.

    woman in orange tank top and gray leggings sits in turtle pose, seated on gray yoga mat leaning head toward mat with arms under bent knees, on wooden floor in home with sliding doors and plants in background
    (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

    Turtle Pose

    This pose is similar to Bound Angle (Baddha Konasana), in which you have your heels pretty close to you. Although for Turtle, you’re going to walk the feet out a little more into this diamond shape, so that your knees are bent a little less than a 90-degree angle, and then you’re going to fold forward from here. Depending on your range of motion, you can always prop yourself up with your hands on the ground or, if you’re able and want to go deeper into the pose, you can reach your arms underneath your legs, palms facing upward.

    You’re not pushing yourself into the pose. You’re letting gravity pull you farther into the forward fold. Take the time to find a version of the pose that lets you feel a nice stretch through the outer hips and maybe along the backs of the legs. You might feel it along the spine as well.

    But you don’t want the stretch to be so intense that it’s hard to relax your muscles or breathe. This is a really great pose to just assess where your body is right now and how you’re feeling. See if you can release between your shoulder blades a little more. Take about 5 more breaths here in whichever variation you’re doing.

    Slowly start to walk your hands back toward you as you lift your chest and shoulders.

    woman in orange tank top and gray leggings sits in seated cat-cow pose, sitting cross-legged on gray yoga mat with hands on knees and face and chest toward the ceiling, on wooden floor in home with sliding doors and plants in background
    (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

    Seated Cat-Cow

    Take a seat, cross your legs, and rest your hands on your knees. As you inhale, lift your chest and try to squeeze your shoulder blades together behind you in a seated version of Cow Pose.

    woman in orange tank top and gray leggings sits in seated cat pose, sitting cross-legged on gray yoga mat with hands on knees, back curved and face looking down toward angles, on wooden floor in home with sliding doors and plants in background
    (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

    As you exhale, reverse this motion by taking your chin to chest and rounding the spine in a version of Cat Pose. You’re warming up the spine. Inhale as you lift your chest in Cow Pose. Exhale as you contract in Cat Pose. Repeat a couple more times.

    woman in orange tank top and gray leggings sits in seated pigeon pose, sitting on gray yoga mat leaning back on hands, left foot on floor, and right ankle crossed over right thigh, on wooden floor in home with sliding doors and plants in background
    (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

    Seated Pigeon Pose or Figure-4

    Come back to sitting and bring your feet flat on the mat with your knees bent. Bring your hands behind you to prop yourself up and lean back a little as you cross your right ankle over your left knee. Bend your left knee and slide your left foot closer or farther away from you as needed. The closer you bring your knee toward your chest, the more intensely you’ll feel this stretch through the outer right hip and into your glutes. Conversely, the more you straighten your left leg, the less intense the stretch.

    Try not to round and slouch your back. I’m also pushing my hands into the mat to get a little more length along the spine. You may want to rock a little side to side here.

    woman in orange tank top and gray leggings in reverse tabletop, with hands and feet on floor and facing the ceiling, in flat tabletop, on gray yoga mat on wooden floor in home with sliding doors and plants in background
    (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

    Reverse Tabletop

    Release Seated Pigeon Pose and bring both feet flat on the mat again. Plant your palms behind you with your fingertips pointing toward your heels. Press into your hands and squeeze your glutes as you lift your set up into Reverse Tabletop. You want to push into your heels to lift through the chest. You’re stretching through the front and top of the shoulders. You can keep your chin slightly tucked or gently let it hang. Depending on your range of motion in the shoulders, this might not feel like much of a stretch or, if you’re like me, it might feel intense.

    Slowly release and lower yourself to the mat. Come into Seated Pigeon Pose and Reverse Tabletop on the other side. It’s super normal if one side feels a little more stiff than the other.

    woman in orange tank top and gray leggings in downward facing dog pose with hands and feet on gray yoga mat and hips raised toward the ceiling, on wood floor in home with brick wall, sliding glass doors, and plants in the background
    (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

    Downward-Facing Dog

    From sitting, cross your ankles, rock forward, bring your hands shoulder-distance apart on the mat, and step your feet back into Downward-Facing Dog. Lengthen through your back and bend your knees as much as you need. Reach your chest toward your thighs.

    woman in orange tank top and gray leggings in three-legged dog pose with hands and left foot on gray yoga mat, hips raised toward the ceiling, and right leg extended and lifted toward ceiling, on wood floor in home with brick wall, sliding glass doors, and plants in the background
    (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

    Three-Legged Dog

    Reach your right leg up and back, keeping your leg straight and your hips square to the mat.  See if you can extend through those toes. Stay here for just a breath. Bend your right knee and let your foot fall behind you as you open your hip while still keeping your right shoulder down and square to the mat. Try to isolate through that right leg.

    woman in orange tank top and gray leggings in low lunge yoga pose with right foot forward on gray yoga mat with right knee at 90-degree angle, back knee bent on ground behind, chest and face toward ceiling, arms at 90-degree angles in cactus arms, on wood floor in home with brick wall, sliding glass doors, and plants in the background
    (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

    Low Lunge

    Step your right foot in between your hands and lower your back knee to the mat in Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana). Lift your chest and arms and engage through the core. Bend your elbows, squeeze your shoulder blades behind you, and take a little backbend with cactus arms. Press your hips forward and down, but not so much that you feel pinching in our lower back. You want to be able to maintain a slow, steady breath rhythm here.

    woman in orange tank top and gray leggings in pyramid pose varation with feet spread wide forward and backward on gray yoga mat, legs straight, and body folded forward over right leg with fingertips touching the mat, on wood floor in home with brick wall, sliding glass doors, and plants in the background
    (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

    Pyramid Pose Variation

    Interlace your hands behind your lower back and lift your chest a little more. Tuck your back toes under, lift the back knee off the mat, and lean your chest forward and down in a variation of High Lunge that’s similar to Pyramid Pose with your back heel lifted. Stay low toward the mat. Bring your hands to the mat, your front shin, or blocks and straighten your right leg in this wider variation of Pyramid Pose. Relax your neck and let your head hang. It’s completely normal if your left heel hovers off the mat. Try to keep pushing into it so you’re stretching through your back calf and ankle.

    woman in orange tank top and gray leggings in pigeon pose with right knee bent and shin on ground across front body, left leg extended backward, tall back, and fingertips on gray yoga mat, on wood floor in home with brick wall, sliding glass doors, and plants in the background
    (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

    Pigeon Pose

    Bring your hands to the mat and come back to Three-Legged Dog, seeing if you have a little more range of motion the second time, and then bend your right knee again for a hip stretch.

    Then bring your right knee behind your right wrist and come into Pigeon Pose. I have my shin kind of parallel to the top of the mat although you can have your heel a little closer to you. This really just depends on your hips and the range of motion that feels the best in your body. Try not to lean all the way over onto your right hip and instead shift some of your weight to the left to stay balanced.

    woman in orange tank top and gray leggings in pigeon pose with right leg crossed on ground in front of the body and left leg extended straight backward, body folded over right leg, forearms on ground and head resting on forearms, on gray yoga mat on wood floor in home with brick wall, sliding glass doors, and plants in the background
    (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

    Walk your hands back, lift through your chest, roll your shoulders back, and take a slight backbend. Then lift out of your lower back as you stay upright, lean forward onto your forearms, or fold toward the mat. You don’t need to come all the way down. This is where having a block can be nice under your hips, chest, or arms. Stay here for 5 to 8 breaths here.

    Notice which muscles in your body are potentially trying to overcompensate and tensing. You’re trying to make this a passive stretch and let gravity do most of the work for you. But this is only possible if you haven’t gone too far into the stretch. So if you have a hard time relaxing your shoulders, quads, glutes, and belly, it usually means you need to back off a little.Take one more big, slow breath here.

    woman in orange tank top and gray leggings in tabletop pose with hands and feet on gray yoga mat and back flat, on wood floor in home with brick wall, sliding glass doors, and plants in the background
    (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

    Tabletop Hip Circles

    Transition to your hands and knees and take a few hip circles by tracing circles with your hips. Do that twice in each direction.

    When you’re ready, find your Downward Dog and repeat Three-Legged Dog, Low Lunge, Pyramid, Pigeon, and Tabletop Hip Circles.

    woman in orange tank top and gray leggings in reclined twist pose lying down on gray yoga mat right leg crossed over to left side of mat, left hand on right knee, right arm bent and relaxed on right side of mat, face toward ceiling, on wood floor in home with brick wall, sliding glass doors, and plants in the background
    (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

    Reclined Twist

    Lower all the way onto your back and pull your knees toward your belly, rocking a little side to side. Keep your right knee where it is and straighten your left leg on the mat. Cross that right thigh over your body toward the left, and maybe reach your right arm straight out to the right side. Try to keep your right shoulder blade anchored to the mat. You’re trying to stretch your right hip away from the right shoulder to release your back.

    Then come back through center and repeat on the other side.

    woman in orange tank top and gray leggings in savasana ("corpse") pose lying down on gray yoga mat, legs and arms extended and relaxed, on wood floor in home with brick wall, sliding glass doors, and plants in the background
    (Photo: Yoga With Kassandra)

    Savasana

    Come into your final resting pose by taking up space with your arms and legs. Close your eyes

    and find some stillness for a few minutes here to process and integrate the work that you’ve done. You’ve giving yourself some time to pause and simply observe.

    When you’re ready, you can reawaken with a little movement and some more intentional breathing. Maybe you reach your arms overhead and stretch from your fingers to your toes. Then turn to one side and slowly come up to a seated position, sitting in any way that is comfortable for you here.

    Take a moment here to pause and focus on your breath and maybe notice how you feel in your body before you return to your day after your full-body stretch. Thank you so very much for doing this full-body stretch yoga practice with me.

    Yoga With Kassandra

    Ottawa-based Yin and vinyasa yoga instructor, author, and the face behind YouTube channel Yoga with Kassandra, Kassandra Reinhardt is on a mission to help others feel great with yoga. Yoga with Kassandra has grown to more than 2.4 million subscribers worldwide. She specializes in her bite-sized approach of 10 minute morning classes as well as videos featuring yoga for athletes and mental health.

    Kassandra is the author of Yin Yoga: Stretch The Mindful Way (DK Books), has led yoga retreats internationally, and offers online workshops and in-person Yin Yoga training. She is also the creator of the Yoga with Kassandra app, a source for yoga with exclusive video content. With over 2 million people in her online community, Kassandra is expanding her expertise further, with the release of her second book, Year of Yoga: Rituals for Every Day and Every Season (Mandala Publishing). Kassandra and her channel have been featured in CBC, Bustle, PopSugar, Well+Good, and Elle Australia.

    Credentials: YTT-200 | YTT-300 | 50-hour yin yoga training | Level 1 yoga therapy

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