I wanted to create a class to show that Yin Yoga can be a very accessible practice – even if you have never practiced Yoga before.

The only thing you need is yourself and a mat. If you don’t have a mat, you can also do these poses in bed as long as your mattress is firm enough to offer your body support.

You can do this class on your own, following the instructions here, or you can turn it into guided practice by joining me on the Joy & Serenity YouTube channel.

In this class, we’ll move through four asanas that will offer your body a nice combination of stretch and mindful relaxation.

We’ll hold the poses between 2-5 minutes. In this time, I want you to really be with your body in stillness.

Since you decide how deep into a pose you go, a good guideline is to pay attention to your breath. If you notice that it’s shallower than before, that simply means you have moved too deep, so ease back a bit to lower the intensity. Again, your breath will let you know when you have reached the perfect point for you. Remember, we have nothing to prove here. We’re simply offering our body some love.

Last thing: if you’re not in a warm environment, I suggest long pants and long sleeves for this practice. Due to the nature of the asanas, you can also wear socks to keep your feet warm.

Banana (2 x 3 minutes):

• begin lying down on your back
• shift your feet toward the right side of the mat, the hips remain where they are
• gently shift your torso and head toward the right side of the mat, the hips remain where they are, so that you are creating a banana shape with your body
• bring your arms overhead, keeping them extended or bent at the elbows – choose whatever shape feels good to you
• feel the length on the left side of your body and the gentle compression on the right
• you can cross the left ankle over the right to add a bit more intensity to the stretch
• breathe and hold this pose for 3 minutes
• to come out of the pose, shift your torso and your legs back to center, reversing the movement to your starting point
• repeat on the other side, holding the pose for 3 minutes

Reclined Child’s Pose (5 minutes):

• from a lying down position, bring your knees in toward your chest, allowing the tailbone to lift
• wrap your arms around your legs, hugging them in
• hold for 3 minutes
• if you notice that your shoulders are coming off the floor or that you have a backward bend in your neck, instead of hugging your legs around the shins, you can grab hold of the back of your thighs

Knee to Chest (2 x 1 minute):

• from Reclined Child’s pose, keep your left leg where it is and extend your right leg long
• you can flex your foot for a more intense stretch through your right hip flexor – or you can keep it relaxed for less intensity
• hold for a minute, then bring both legs in to your chest before switching sides

Savasana (5 minutes):

• stretch your legs out, let your feet naturally fall as they desire
• bring your arms out to the sides into a slight V shape, palms can be facing up or down (depending on what feels good to you right now)
• make sure your chin isn’t flying up toward the ceiling but is slightly tucked in instead so that the back of the neck is long
• if you want to, you can roll your shoulders beneath you to create an expansive opening through the chest – you can also use this if you notice that your shoulders are excessively rounding up and off the mat because it will allow for your shoulders to settle and give your body better alignment
• when you’re ready to come out of the pose, begin to wiggle your fingers and toes, then roll onto your side into a fetal position before using your arms to bring yourself up to seated

How was that? Do you feel looser in your body, more relaxed, more calm? What was your experience like? Did anything pleasantly surprise you about the practice? Does your state of mind feel different now?

I want to thank you, truly thank you, for showing up for yourself and doing this Yin Yoga class. Even just a short amount of on the mat like this can bring so many benefits into your life.

I’ll definitely be posting more beginner classes, so I kindly invite you to join me again in the future. Until then, you can absolutely repeat this sequence as often as you would like!

Before we wrap this up, one more reminder all of my Yoga classes are also available in video format. So if you want to follow along (or simply check out a pose), you can hop over to YouTube for the guided practice.

If you want to save this sequence for quick future reference, I created a handy “Yin Recipe” graphic for you to grab:

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