This stretch is your new favorite solution for instant rest

From an outside perspective, my life seems to revolve around yoga. I have been practicing for over 10 years and am an editor at Yoga diaryso friends and acquaintances often assume that I roll out my mat every day, stretching, meditating, and savasana-ing my way to “inner peace.” But the reality is much more boring, imperfect and human than that.

There have been days, weeks, even months when I haven’t stepped into a yoga studio or onto my mat at home. Sometimes I barely give myself a minute of rest between meetings and feeding my dog ​​and whatever new task is automatically filled in at the end of my mental to-do list. As deeply as I know that yoga makes me feel a little lighter and a lot more part of (*gestures around*) the world, I know that there will always be times when I neglect the tension in my hamstrings and the ache in my hips and plop down on my bed to rest and watch the latest season of Selling sunset.

But there are also times when I desperately need to return to myself, despite my complete lack of motivation to do so. And if the idea of ​​finding a 10- or even 5-minute practice seems completely daunting to me, I’ve learned that there’s one pose that gradually stills my body and invites my mind to follow. It’s something I can start without thinking about it and with minimal resistance. Once I get there, I allow myself to sink deeper into my own experience and am always reminded of why I do yoga in the first place.

That pose is Sitting Wide Legs Fold Forward with a Pillow.

I sit on the floor and spread my legs in a V-shape. The first reason I love this pose is that it is easily adaptable. If I feel like a more intense stretch, I spread my legs wider. Otherwise, I’m perfectly content to keep them in a narrow V.

Then I reach for my pillow, which is a lot like grabbing my pillow before going to bed, anticipating its comfort (a few pillows stacked together also work in place of a pillow in this position). I position the pillow so that it is angled lengthwise in front of me, with one end about a foot away from my front hips. The stretch in my hamstrings is always a reprieve from what the day has asked of my body.

Lowering my forehead onto the support is a very simple act that delivers exactly what yoga promises when it comes to seated forward folds: my focus on the outer world softens and refocuses on my inner world. It’s like I’m bowing to myself.

Just as I can adjust the stretch of the lower body to my needs, I can place my hands where it feels most nourishing. Sometimes it’s on the ground, which makes me feel grounded and solid. Other times it sits on my thighs, which feels like an act of self-love – a reminder that I am here and despite everything going on around me, I can never be taken from myself.

After pausing for anywhere from 10 seconds to a few minutes, I slowly release the pose and inevitably carry the peace it gives me with me for the rest of the day. It inspires me to turn away from my computer screen and take a few breaths or brush my teeth a little slower. Because what’s the hurry?