Have you ever been in the park, or on the beach, or just in your kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil, and thought, “hmm, I’d like to do about 1 minute of yoga now.”
Here are a few yoga poses that you can do almost anywhere, without any props or a mat:
Arms Overhead, with Slight Back Bend
This one is great for expanding the breath, and getting a wonderful stretch along the back, spine and torso. Remain with arms lifted for 3 breaths. Encourage a gentle arc backwards with every inhale.
Standing Forward Fold
This is wonderful for the lower back and upper body. Make sure to relax your neck by gazing toward your knees. You can either straighten your legs, or keep a slight bend in your knees. Stay here for 3 full breaths, folding more deeply with every exhale.
Chair Pose
This is an excellent pose for strength and stability. When you sit back, like sitting into an invisible chair, make sure you can see your toes just in front of your knees as you look down. And make sure to rock front hipbones in towards your belly button–this will slightly engage your abdominal muscles and help to protect your back. Stay for 3 long breaths and come out by exhaling and folding over the tops of your thighs.
High Lunge
Wonderful for balance, and both stretching and strengthening the legs and feet. Tuck back toes under to get a nice stretch in the foot. Firmly plant front foot on the ground. Slightly engage abdominal muscles to help protect lower back. Reach arms overhead and breathe.
Tadasana (Standing Pose)
This one is a great one for “kettle watching”. Waiting for the kettle to boil is a perfect amount of time to take a few moments to just stand and breathe. Wonderful for calming the mind, relaxing the body, and becoming grounded. Take as many breaths in this pose as you like, making sure to relax shoulders. Close eyes if you feel balanced and safe to do so, or alternatively keep gaze on one fixed point.
