10 Yoga Poses to Beat Stress

Photo: Pond5

If you’re struggling with sky-high stress levels, yoga can be a great way to calm your mindwhile giving your body the attention it deserves. It may seem counterintuitive that twisting yourself into a pretzel can promote relaxation, but it’s true! Studies show that yoga has a whole host of benefits; it can boost immunity, fight food cravings, and can even help relieve stress since most practices dedicate several poses to meditation that brings your thoughts and feelings into awareness.

“The key to de-stressing is realizing how to calm the mind and be present,” says world-renowned yogi and DailyBurn trainer Briohny Smyth. No time for “me” time? To balance family life with the demands of a busy career, Smyth wakes up extra early to dedicate time to her own personal practice. “It’s really important for me to start the day calm and clearheaded,” she says. 

But where’s a new yogi to start? Smyth developed the beginner-friendly sequence of yoga poses below to promote physical and mental awareness and help tame tension. If you’re practicing at night (which can help you sleep better), she recommends you end in savasana(corpse pose) or viparita karani, where your back is pressed on the ground and your legs are up the wall. If you’re practicing in the morning, Smyth suggests beginning and ending with a seated meditation.

Yoga to Beat Stress

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  Restorative Yoga 

  Ready to de-stress? Click through to view each pose in this beginner’s relaxation sequence, and then try to set aside just a few minutes each day to practice. You might feel relaxed right away, but the key to maintaining that zen and unlocking all of yoga’s benefits is to make a habit out of your practice, Smyth says.

• Sequence