Add some calm to your day with this 10-minute yoga practice from Cat Butterfield, yoga teacher and founder of the Well Woman Yoga app
In our fast-paced lives, dedicating just 10 minutes to yourself can work wonders for improving your wellbeing. It might surprise you, but you don’t need to attend an hour-long studio class to feel the benefits of yoga: even just a few minutes of breathwork or a short meditation is enough to give you a boost.
Taking a short time for your practice provides a momentary pause, allowing you to reset, rejuvenate and be more present. It also gives you an opportunity to reconnect with yourself and foster greater self-awareness. So, while it may seem like a short time, setting aside just 10 minutes for yoga offers benefits both on and off the mat, from reduced stress and enhanced productivity to improved mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.
THE SEQUENCE The following yoga practice is designed to promote calm, reduce stress, balance hormones and help you find more peace in life. Each exercise includes step-by-step instructions and the benefits for your body and nervous system. And you can do them anywhere!
CHILD’S POSE
Benefits: The first variation releases tension in the shoulders as you allow your shoulders to relax and fall alongside your body. The second variation provides relaxation, stretches the back and releases tension in the inner hips, which helps to ease tension and stress
• Variation 1: Kneel on the mat, sit back on your heels and bring your forehead to the ground (or a cushion). Rest arms alongside your body with palms facing up.
• Variation 2: Take knees apart and your arms reaching forward, while lowering your chest to towards the floor.
Variation 2
Variation 1
LEGS RAISED
Benefits: Having the legs raised higher than the heart is called an inversion in yoga, and inversions stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the body’s rest and digest response
• Either raise your legs by lying at the edge of the room and resting your legs up the wall or place a block or cushion under the lower back (A).
• If you already practise shoulderstands, working with legs raised can enhance the benefits of this pose (B).
ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATH
Benefits: This breathwork technique promotes balance in the nervous system, enhances focus and reduces stress and anxiety
• Make sure you are sitting comfortably and begin by taking a few deep breaths in and out of your nose, allowing the breath to travel down to the tummy (A).
• Place the middle finger of one hand between your eyebrows. Throughout the technique, use your thumb to close one nostril (B) and your ring finger to close the
