15-minute Yin Yoga for beginners (or anyone who wants to relax)

When you need to calm down, slow down and just be, this yin yoga for beginners practice offers a refuge from the fast-paced world. It is a more meditative practice where you hold poses for at least a few minutes to support a deep physical and emotional release.

What is Yin Yoga?

Yin yoga promotes stress relief and improves flexibility and mobility, especially in the lower body, by targeting tension in the denser connective tissues. The practice supports stress relief and inner peace, helps you learn how to remain in silence with minor discomfort, and invites you to bring a sense of balance and ease to the rest of the day.

Three principles, outlined by yoga teacher Sarah Powers, can help you deepen your understanding of yin and your own practice. Powers distills yin into respecting your body’s boundaries (what she calls “playing your limits”), embracing silence to calm the mind, and holding time to enable deep relaxation. All three principles apply to every pose in your practice.

For example, a little discomfort is okay, but sharp pain is not. Stay where you feel a gentle challenge. Yin yoga is about accepting your body as it is, letting go of any urge to push or strain. It’s all about allowing.

15 minute Yin yoga for beginners

This beginner-friendly yin yoga routine will help you release long-held tension. Practice the three principles described above in each pose.

Butterfly pose

Butterfly Pose relieves tension in the hips, inner thighs and spine. Don’t forget to practice playing your lead.

How: Sit on your mat or on a firm cushion or yoga block for support. Bring the soles of your feet together and hold them further away from your body to reduce the intensity of the stretch. Don’t push your knees down; they are fine where they are. Tilt your pelvis forward and fold forward over your legs until you feel the first point of resistance. This is your first lead. Stay here, connect to your breathing and notice the sensations of your body.

Wait patiently as you practice the second principle of yin: silence. Your body may soften, inviting you to fold a little deeper, bringing your nose closer to your feet. This is your new edge. Stay here and see if there is another invitation to deepen your knowledge. If your body doesn’t open further, that’s fine.

Stay in butterfly pose for 2 minutes, playing on your edges, focusing on your breathing and observing the sensations the pose brings.

Sphinx pose

Sphinx Pose releases the lower back, stretches the spine and opens the chest.

How: Lie on your stomach with your forearms on the mat. For less intensity in the backbend, slide your elbows further forward in front of your shoulders. Look diagonally downwards or straight ahead.

Once you’ve found a comfortable version of the pose, go for silence. Avoid fidgeting or looking around. Calm your mind by focusing on your breathing and noticing the sensations the pose brings. There are two exceptions to stillness when it’s okay to adjust: if you’re feeling pain or extreme discomfort, or if your body is inviting you to move a little deeper into the pose.

Then promise to stay here for 2 minutes.

Crocodile pose

This much less intense backbend serves as a subtle counterposition to the Sphinx Pose. Allowing your heels to fall apart can reduce tension in the lower back.

How: Rest in Crocodile Pose by bringing your big toes together and letting your heels fall outward along the edges of your mat. Rest your forehead on your hands or on the mat. Stay here for one minute.

Reclining Swan

The reclining swan frees up the lower back and glutes.

How: Lie on your back, bend your right knee and place the sole of your foot on the mat. Rest your left ankle on your right thigh and gently push your left knee away from you to feel a stretch in your left glute – this is your first edge. If your body invites you to stretch more intensely, reach your arms along either side of your right leg and place your fingers behind your thigh, but do not pull forcefully.

Stay here for 2 minutes.

When you’re done, repeat on the other side.

Lying twist

Reclined Twist provides a deep stretch in the back.

How: Release your left foot on the mat and straighten it. Use your left hand to gently guide your right knee across your body to the left side of your mat. Stack your hips. Extend your right arm straight out from the shoulder if this feels good. Try to keep both shoulders grounded and relaxed. For a deeper twist, look to the right. Twist only as far as your body allows, without tension or force.

Hold for 2 minutes.

When you’re done, repeat on the other side.

Savasana

Rest deeply in corpse pose a few times, letting your arms and legs rest naturally and taking up space as your body needs. Sink into the earth and absorb the full benefits of your yin yoga practice. Honor yourself for showing up this morning and embracing this gentle practice.