You know those days when all you have time for is a 5-minute yoga practice? This class is for those days. It’s a collection of poses that deliver the best head-to-toe strengthening, stretching, and moving in all the way your body needs.

It’s a pretty packed five minutes. Actually, it’s closer to seven minutes, which allows time for you to start with some familiar warm-up and then get right into Downward-Facing Dog, Low Lunges, Plank and Cobras, and some seated silence that’s so short it might not seem to count as meditation. But if it’s the only stillness you experience before you get on with your day, it definitely counts.

You’ll be surprised at how just a few minutes of movement can affect your muscles, your heart rate, your mental state, your concentration, and how you feel in general. Your yoga practice truly does not always need to be long in order to be effective. But don’t take my word for it. Experience it for yourself.

5-Minute Yoga for When That’s All the Time You Can Spare

Cat-Cow

(Photo: Yoga with Kassandra)

Come to your hands and knees with your hands underneath your shoulders and your knees underneath your hips. Spread your fingertips wide and press into your knuckles. As you inhale, lower your belly, lift your gaze, and arch your back in Cow Pose.

(Photo: Yoga with Kassandra)

Then as you exhale, reverse this motion so you round and contract in Cat Pose. Keep going, in and out of these two poses, moving with your breath.

Keep the creases of your elbows facing forward and try to isolate the motion in your upper, mid, and low back, focusing on the entire length of your spine and not neglecting any part of it.

Downward-Facing Dog

(Photo: Yoga with Kassandra)

Find a neutral back in hands and knees, walk your hands a couple inches past your shoulders, and lift your hips toward the sky in Downward-Facing Dog. Go ahead and bend your left knee a lot as you push your right heel toward the mat. It might not touch the mat, which is totally fine. Keep straightening your arms and reaching your chest toward your thighs as you feel a big stretch along your right leg. Then switch and bend your right knee and press down with your left heel. Keep that length in your arms. Now find some stillness. It’s fine if you keep both knees bent.

Plank Pose

(Photo: Yoga with Kassandra)

Come all the way forward and bring your shoulders over your wrists in Plank Pose. You can hold here for a breath or two if you like.

Dynamic Cobra Pose

(Photo: Yoga with Kassandra)

Slowly lower yourself to your belly. Maybe your knees come down to the mat first. Keep your elbows hugging inward as you lower yourself, forehead to the mat. Point through your toes and inhale as you lift your chin and chest off the mat in Baby Cobra. Maybe you also float your hands off the mat. Then exhale as you lower yourself to the mat. Do 2 more like that. Inhale and lift. Exhale and release to the mat. Repeat once more.

Low Lunge

(Photo: Yoga with Kassandra)

Push your hands into the mat, come back to hands and knees, and step your right foot forward to the top of the mat in Low Lunge. Come up onto your fingertips or place your hands on blocks, lengthen through your chest, reach your heart forward, and draw your shoulders down. Your breath is slow and steady.

Low Lunge Twist

(Photo: Yoga with Kassandra)

Add a little twist to your Low Lunge by bringing your right hand to your right upper thigh and push into it as you turn your chest toward the right and look over your right shoulder. Let your hips be really heavy here, sinking toward the mat. Then look forward again.

Three-Legged Dog

(Photo: Yoga with Kassandra)

Tuck your back toes under, lift your back knee off the mat, and sweep your right leg all the way up and back in Three-Legged Dog. Then bend your knee and let your foot fall behind you to open your hip.

Release your right foot to the mat in Down Dog, come forward into Plank, lower all the way to your belly and repeat Cobra, followed by Low Lunge, Low Lunge Twist, and Three-Legged Dog on the left side as well as another Down Dog and Plank.

Cobra Pose

(Photo: Yoga with Kassandra)

Lower yourself all the way to the mat. This time press your hands and lift your chest a little higher off the mat in Cobra Pose. You can straighten your arms or not.

Child’s Pose

(Photo: Yoga with Kassandra)

Bring your big toes together, your knees as wide as you would like them to be, and sink your hips back toward your heels in Child’s Pose. Walk your hands forward and let your chest fold down. Take at least 5 breaths here to slow your heart rate.

Closing

(Photo: Yoga with Kassandra)

Walk your hands in and start to lift yourself to sitting. Take a seat here in any way that is comfortable to you. Roll your shoulders down and away from your ears and take a few more easy breaths here before you return to your day.

Thank you so much for doing this short 5-minute yoga routine with me. I trust that it gave you a nice stretch and a boost of motivation. If you’d like to make this practice a little longer, you could follow this up with sitting in meditation.