10-Minute Evening Yoga Practice for a Full Body Stretch

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A few years ago, I noticed that I was practicing yoga only in the mornings. That happened to be when I had the most time, and by then yoga been part of my routine for so long, I hadn’t thought about when I was practicing. But after that, I flipped my schedule and began practicing evening yoga. I found that a 10-minute evening yoga practice was enough and kept it realistic and doable so I wouldn’t be tempted to find excuses to skip it, and I would usually practice it just before bed (or, a lot of the time, actually in bed).

Not long after, I started to share the sequence on my YouTube channel so others could end their day with evening yoga stretches.

Benefits of a 10-Minute Evening Yoga Practice

The following poses are a super simple, beginner-friendly sequence of seated and reclined poses to quiet the nervous system. I work my way down the body, releasing tension one part at a time, starting with the neck and shoulders and then moving along the spine before heading to the hips, hamstrings, quads, and lower body to get rid of all the aches and pains from the day.

It doesn’t require any props and can be done anytime, including right before you fall into bed (and you can actually practice it from bed). It’s low effort, so it’s not going to overexert you or cause you to be awake afterward. It’s very relaxing and laid back. I consider it to be my 10-minute evening yoga ritual, and so do many others.

A 10-Minute Evening Yoga Practice for a Full-Body Stretch

Neck Stretch

Begin in a comfortable cross-legged seated position or whatever is comfortable for you. Let your head tilt to one side, then draw your chin down in front of your chest, and circle your head to the other side to create a half-moon shape. You can lean your head back slightly on each side, but there’s no need to take it all the way back or in a complete circle. Continue with your half circles. Notice where you feel the stretch in your body. It might feel good to hold a specific position, breathing into any tension. Relax your jaw so there’s no clenching. Repeat this as many times as you like.

Shoulder Shrugs

Bring your chin back to center. Shrug your shoulders all the way up toward your ears and then draw them back and down as you squeeze your shoulder blades behind you. Then repeat at least a couple times.

You can also place your fingertips on the mat behind your hips, bend your elbows, and try to squeeze your elbows toward each other as you lift your chest. Take a big breath in and come all back to your seated position.

Seated Cat-Cow

You can change the crossing of your legs to even out the stretch in your hips. Bring your hands to the tops of your knees for a seated Cat-Cow. As you inhale, expand the front of your chest and puff it forward in Cow.

As you exhale, round the spine and contract as you drop your head and drop your chin toward your chest in Cat.

Repeat. Inhale, to open your chest. Exhale and round the spine. Practice two more rounds here and then come back to your sitting position.

Bound Angle or Butterfly Pose

Straighten your legs in front of you and then bring the bottoms of your feet together and let your knees lower to the sides. Slide your heels further away from you to create a less-intense diamond shape with your legs. As you inhale, fold forward with a flat back and straight spine. Once you reach your edge, where you can no longer hold your back straight, let yourself round and release down.

As you exhale, roll all the way back up to a seated position. Repeat this process of falling forward and coming back up a few more times. Then reverse the motion and exhale as you round, contract and dive down. And then, with a flat back, inhale and come all the way back up. Round your spine and repeat two more times.

Reclined Twist

From a seated position, lower yourself onto your back. Extend your right leg straight on the mat and bring your left knee in toward your chest. You might want to sway your left knee side to side, roll your left ankle, or flex and point your toes.

As you exhale, cross your left knee across your body to the right. Reach your left arm straight out to the side and keep as much of your left shoulder in contact with the mat (or the bed) as possible. You might turn your head toward your left shoulder. Come back to center and hold onto the back of your left thigh.

As you inhale, straighten your leg toward the sky and then exhale and bend it a little. Inhale press and straighten. Exhale bend it in. Do this two more times. Repeat this action on the other side.

Half Happy Baby

From your back, exhale and bend your left knee. Grab your left foot or your left big toe, keeping your arm to the inside of your left leg and your elbow pressing against your inner thigh. Try to pull your thigh down toward the floor as you also push that knee a little wider to the side. Keep pressing your right hip down so you’re not rolling over onto your left side, resting your right hand gently on your right hip flexor as a gentle reminder. Relax your shoulders and take some slow, steady breaths, drawing them all the way into your lower belly.

Reclined Pigeon

From Half Happy Baby, keep your left leg as it is and bend your right knee to bring your right foot flat on the mat. Cross your left ankle over the top of your right thigh in Reclined Pigeon Pose. Reach with your arms on either side of your right thigh and draw your right knee toward you. This is a big stretch for your glutes and outer hip. Pause here.

Release and switch sides, so your left leg is straight. Draw your right knee in toward you and sway your knee a little side to side and maybe take a few ankle rolls with your right foot, flexing and pointing it. Try to disengage your upper body and relax your arms and your shoulders. Move into Reclined Twist on this side, followed by Half Happy Baby and Reclined Pigeon.

Sphinx Pose

From lying on your back, straighten your legs and roll onto your belly. Bring your legs hip-distance apart or wider and point your toes toward the back of the mat. As you come onto your forearms, think of lifting your chest and shrugging your shoulders back so there’s expansion across the front of your chest. Gently push the front of your pubic bone into the ground and push into the tops of your feet to find a little more lift through your chest.

Stay here or, for a slightly deeper backbend, straighten your arms and lift your chest.

Child’s Pose

From Sphinx Pose, shift yourself back into a wide-legged Child’s Pose. Press your big toes together and spread your knees as wide as you would like them, leaving enough room for your torso. As you walk your hands forward, reach your hips towards your heels and melt down through the chest.

A variation of Child’s Pose that I like is to press your hands together in prayer, bend the elbows, and bring your thumbs toward the back of your neck, over the top of your head.

Easy Pose or Savasana

Start to walk your hands back toward your knees. You can either come to a seated position, like at the beginning of this practice, or you can slip under the sheets and come into Savasana there.

Whether you’re seated or reclined, close your 10-minute evening yoga practice by inhaling through your nose and then releasing a big breath through your mouth to, prepare for a great night’s sleep.

RELATED: 15 Yoga Poses to Help You Get Better Sleep

About Our Contributor
Kassandra Reinhardt is an Ottawa-based Yin Yoga and vinyasa yoga instructor whose YouTube channel has grown to 2.2 million subscribers and has more than 230 million views. Kassandra recently released her guided yoga journal, My Yoga Journey: A Guided Journal, her daily affirmation card deck, I Radiate Joy, and her book, Year of Yoga.