10-Minute Gentle Yoga for Anxiety and Burnout

In our fast-paced world, many of us prioritize what we need to do instead of how we feel while we’re doing it. The result? We’re almost constantly thinking, planning, replaying, and worrying. And although the mind is where so much anxiety is generated, we can’t always think our way out of that state.

But we can shift our attention, which is the goal of yoga for anxiety.

This gentle seated practice encourages you to become more aware of your physical experience. When you notice the sensations of your inhalations and exhalations, or the way your hips or shoulders let go of tension during a stretch, your awareness naturally begins to anchor in the present moment.

The most freeing part? There’s no “doing it right.” Your body doesn’t need to look or move a certain way. In this practice you’re invited to move organically. You’ll build a greater sense of trust with your body as you learn to honor what you like and leave behind what you don’t—an incredibly useful skill to have during life’s more stressful moments.

10-Minute Gentle Yoga for Anxiety 

Turn to this short flow during moments of anxiety, overwhelm, or restlessness.

1. Seated Arm Stretch

Find a comfortable seat and close your eyes. Feel your body being supported by the Earth beneath you.

Inhale, reach your arms overhead, and gaze toward the ceiling. Exhale and slowly lower your arms to your sides. Repeat a few more times.

2. Seated Twist

Inhale and reach your arms overhead. As you exhale, twist toward the right, lower your right hand or fingertips to the mat behind you, and rest your left hand on your right knee. Take a few breaths here.

Inhale as you reach your arms overhead and face forward. Then exhale and twist toward the left. Lower your left hand or fingertips to the mat behind you and rest your right hand on your left knee. Take a few breaths here. Inhale and reach your arms overhead, then exhale and lower them to your sides.

3. Arm Swings

Twist your chest toward the right and then the left as you let your arms swing side to side. Move at your own pace. After several seconds, slow down and come to stillness with your arms at your sides.

4. Torso Circles

Place your hands on your knees. Slowly move your chest forward, toward one side, back, and toward the opposite side in a circular motion. Move as quickly or as slowly as you like. After a few breaths, make a circle in the opposite direction.

5. Chest Stretch

Plant your feet on the mat about hip-width apart with your knees pointing toward the ceiling. Press your hands into the mat behind you with your fingertips facing away from you. As you inhale, press your chest forward and lift your chin as you would in Cow Pose. Exhale as you draw your chest back and lower your chin to the starting position. Repeat once more.

6. Foot Taps

Shift more of your weight into your hands and start to tap one foot at a time against the mat in quick succession. Tap your feet against the mat for several seconds, then rest.

7. Tabletop to Child’s Pose 

Come to your hands and knees. Take a moment to tap the top of one foot and then the other against the mat in quick succession. Return to stillness. Lower your hips toward your heels, draw your chest toward the mat, and rest your forehead on the mat or a block in Child’s Pose. Keep your arms straight and plant your palms on the mat. Take a few breaths here.

On an inhalation, return to your hands and knees. On an exhalation, return to Child’s Pose. Repeat a few more times.

8. Cat-Cow

Come to your hands and knees. Inhale as you lower your belly toward the mat, arch your back, and lift your chin in Cow Pose. Exhale as you round your spine and tuck your chin toward your chest in Cat Pose. Repeat this two more times, moving with your breath.

9. Side Bends

From your hands and knees, move your hips toward the right as you gaze over your right shoulder. Exhale as you draw your hips toward the left and gaze over your left shoulder. Repeat once more on each side.

10. Toe Squat

From your hands and knees, tuck your toes and walk your hands toward your thighs until you’re kneeling. (If this feels too intense, untuck your toes.) Interlace your fingers behind you. Inhale as you straighten your arms and reach your chest forward. Exhale as you release your arms at your sides and untuck your toes.

From kneeling or any comfortable position, take a few deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. With your eyes closed, gently tap your hands against your chest or place one hand over the other in front of your heart space. Let your breath continue this rhythm. When you’re ready, return to your natural breathing.