top of page

Poses

A Visual Guide to Yin and Restorative yoga poses

Ankle Stretch is an intense stretch of the ankles, the shins, and secondarily through the knees. Variations include using padding under the knees or not leaning back.
Bananasana is a large stretch that targets the entire side of the body from the arm and shoulders to the hip and ankle.
Supported bridge pose targets the low back and can also include the hip flexors and upper body with variations.
Melting Heart pose is a deep chest opener that also targets the back, shoulders, and arms.
Easy pose is, in fact, not easy to sit in for a long period of time without practice. It strengthens the spinal muscles, opens the chest, imprints good seated posture, and gently opens the hips in external rotation. Using a pillow under the hips can be helpful.
This pose is a deep chest opener that is great for counteracting sitting at a computer all day. You can do it with either bent knees or straight legs. Your choice of pillow or block allows you to choose how deep you want to take the pose.
Child's pose is often offered as a relaxation pose, but in reality, it can be quite difficult on the body. Use blankets and pillows to add space and support where needed.
Cat pulling tail is a twisted pose with a slight bind of the foot with the hand, leading to sensation along your side body. You can prop yourself up, use a pillow beneath the leg, or use a yoga strap to make your foot more accessible.
Extended hand-to-foot pose uses a yoga strap to help you open your hips.
Cat cow tilts open the chest, back, stomach, hips, and spine. They can be done seated cross-legged, sitting in a chair, lying on your back with your feet against a wall, or in tabletop position.
Seated twists are a great way to get some movement into the back and spine, especially if you spend a large amount of time sitting. They can be done almost anywhere. I would suggest you hold each side for between 30 seconds and one minute, then repeating if necessary to feel more open.
Eagle arms, at its most basic, is a really strong back and shoulder opener. If doing the full bind is too difficult for you, you can simply hug yourself super tight while dropping your head to start working on that opening.
Neck stretches are a great way to release tightness in your neck and shoulders, especially if you do a lot of work at a computer.
Happy baby is a deep hamstring and hip stretch. Add a pillow/block under the tailbone and do it one leg at a time to make it more accessible.
An intense stretch in the hips and groin area, a great way to make frog pose more available to your body is to use pillows, blocks, and blankets under your torso to take the pressure off.
Reclining twists are nice, relaxing postures that allow your body to relax in a spinal rotation. Changing your leg position and adding pillows and blocks can make them more comfortable.
Saddle pose is an intense knee, quad, and back stretch. Luckily there are a lot of ways to make it more comfortable, including using pillows under your back and doing just one leg at a time.
Shoelace posture requires a lot of opening in the hips, knees, and ankles to fully expressed. There are a lot of ways to make it accessible in any body: single leg, lying, on your back, or just switch it for a pose that better fits your hips.
Sphinx and seal pose are huge front of the body stretches that also put some pressure on the spine, back, and neck. They can be made more or less intense by the use of pillows.
WLYLogo.png
WLYLogo.png
WLYLogo.png
WLYLogo.png
WLYLogo.png
  • Bluesky-Social-Logo-Vector_edited_edited
  • Youtube
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Threads
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

© 2021 by Wanderlust Yoga Channel. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page