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The thing about Monday is it happens whether or not you feel ready. Unrelentingly so.
The only thing left to do, as with so much of life, is to somehow handle whatever unexpectedness or intensity finds you. Because you can’t change your situation. But you can change how you show up to it. A 15-minute morning yoga practice can help with that.
Rather than brace yourself for any unwanted situation, perhaps you instead practice how to handle it. The following sequence turns intense quickly so you can challenge your focus and practice regaining your balance and your composure. It doesn’t matter whether you feel clumsy throughout it or surprise yourself by being more graceful than you expected.
Breathe through the 15-minute morning yoga practice. Pay attention to where you’re making it harder for yourself than needed. Refine your approach. Repeat. Then see if you can bring that same approach to your Monday.
Whether you take yourself through the following 15-minute morning yoga practice before you confront the day or rely on it as a way to refocus at some point during the day, let yourself feel the intensity.
15-Minute Morning Yoga to Make it Through the Day
Use your breath and your awareness to discern where you instinctively hold unneeded tension where you don’t need it throughout your 15-minute morning yoga practice. Then drop that intensity so you can save the unneeded expenditure of effort for the places that are difficult.
Standing Forward Bend
Stand at the front of the mat and bring your feet a little wider than your hips. Slowly hinge at your hips and bend forward in Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana). Rest your hands on the mat or blocks or let them dangle. Let your head hang heavy toward the mat. Bend your knees a little or a lot.
Let out a long slow exhale as you relax your neck and shoulders. Take your time as you inhal-e and then take even more time as you slowly exhale. Keep doing that.
Slowly nod your head a few times and then turn to look toward each side. Remain still or sway from side to side. Keep your breath slow and steady. If you feel like all your weight is in your heels or, conversely, like you’re leaning a little precariously forward, start to shift your balance more toward the middle.
Take some Cat and Cow shapes in your standing forward bend by inhaling as you straighten your arms and press your fingertips into the mat or blocks or your shins and arch your back. Then exhale as you bend your elbows, round your back, and bring your chin and chest toward your thighs. Repeat.
Bring your left fingertips to the mat or a block directly beneath your forehead. Place your right hand on your right hip, bend your left knee, and turn your chest toward the right, stacking your shoulders. Stay here or reach your right arm toward the ceiling, palm facing away from you. Stay here for several breaths. Slowly release to center and straighten your legs. Switch sides.
Standing Half Forward Bend
From your standing forward bend, bring your hands to your shins or thighs and lift your back halfway to standing so it’s parallel to the mat. Stay here in Standing Half Forward Bend (Ardha Uttanasana) for several breaths. Draw your navel toward your core, lengthen through all sides of your neck, and draw your shoulders away from your ears. Lift the arches of your feet and subtly rotate your inner thighs inward as if you’re trying to turn them toward the wall behind you. Breathe here.
Low Lunge
From Standing Half Bend, release your hands to the mat, step your left foot back, and lower your left knee to the mat in Low Lunge. Press your front heel into the mat and lift your sternum toward the ceiling as you bring your hands to your hips. Draw your elbows toward each other behind your back and take a slight backbend.
Bring your hands to the mat, tuck your back toes, and lift your back knee. Push through your back heel and look forward and down as you lengthen through all sides of your neck and draw your shoulder blades away from your ears.
Stay here or straighten and bend your front knee, taking your time as you rock back and forth. It’s fine if your bent knee falls in front of your ankle. As you rock forward, take a slight backbend by lifting your chest toward the ceiling and letting your hips sink toward the mat.
Plank
From Low Lunge, step your right foot back to Plank. Pause as you reach through your heels and lengthen through all sides of your neck. It’s perfectly fine to lower your knees to the mat. Exhale as you slowly lower yourself through Chaturanga and all the way to the mat. Notice if you rush yourself toward the end when it becomes most challenging and keep your pace and your breath steady.
Cobra
From lying on the mat with your feet hip-distance apart and your forehead touching, untuck your toes. Press the tops of your feet and your hands into the mat and lift your chest slightly into Cobra (Bhujanghasana) as you start to straighten your arms. Keep your gaze forward and down so the back of your neck remains long. Breathe here. If you feel ready, straighten your arms and lift your thighs to come into Upward-Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana).
Downward-Facing Dog
From Cobra or Upward-Facing Dog, tuck your toes and push yourself up and back to Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), shifting your hips up and back toward the where the wall behind you meets the ceiling. Lengthen through your back and sides and try to sink your weight into your heels, reaching your heels toward the mat regardless of whether they touch it or not.
Slow your breath. Walk it out by bending one knee deeply, straightening the other, and pausing there and then switch sides. Come back to stillness. Stay here for at least 3 breaths.
Step or walk to the front of the mat and repeat the Standing Half Forward Bend and Low Lunge on the other side. Follow it with Plank, Cobra or Up Dog, and Down Dog.
Three-Legged Dog
Inhale and reach your right leg straight behind you, bend your knee, and let your heel drop behind you as your right hip stacks atop your left. Your right shoulder is going to want to lift toward the ceiling. Instead, keep your shoulders facing the mat in Down Dog and feel the twist along your side body.
Warrior 2
From Down Dog with a twist, step or walk your right foot forward behind your right wrist. Spin the outer edge of your back foot down at an angle and rise into Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana II). Keep lifting the arch of your back foot as you focus your thoughts and your sight on a single point in front of you. Notice if you’re leaning forward rather than stacking your shoulders over your hips and bring yourself back into balance.
Reverse Warrior
From Warrior 2, keep your legs the same and continue to keep your chest facing the left long side of the mat as you simply lean to your left and reach your right arm toward the ceiling in Reverse Warrior (Viparita Virabhadrasana). Let your left arm slide down your back leg or you can bend your elbow and take your hand behind your back toward your right hip in a wrap. Keep the bend in your front knee and continue to press through the outer edge of your back foot.
Slowly straighten your front leg. Focus on your balance and stay here for several breaths.
Triangle Pose
From Reverse Warrior with straight legs, keep your legs steady as you lean forward and lower your right hand to your front shin or a block in Triangle Pose (Trikonasana). If you have the wrap, slowly unwind it. Reach your left arm toward the ceiling. Lengthen through your side body. Notice if you’re arching your back and, if so, come back to neutral by engaging your core as if you were lying on the mat and starting a crunch. Breathe here.
Warrior 3
From Triangle Pose, bend your front knee and cartwheel your hands to the mat or blocks, lifting your back heel and come onto the ball of your back foot. Shift your weight into your right foot and lift your left leg straight behind you. Push through your lifted heel and reach the top of your head toward the wall in front of you. Stare straight down at the floor. Keep your breath steady.
Stay here or start to float your fingertips an inch or so off the mat in Warrior 3 (Virabhadrasana III). Maybe you reach your arms alongside your hips with your fingers reaching toward the wall behind you or alongside your head. Or maybe you bring both hands to your chest, bend your left knee, and touch it behind your right knee in a Shiva Squat. Let yourself play a little as you challenge yourself or keep your hands on blocks for balance. Keep grounding down into your standing leg.
Side Plank
From Warrior 3, bend a little in your front knee and bring your hands back to the mat. Take a long step back with your left foot. Roll onto the outer edge of your left foot and shift all the weight into your left hand as you step back into Side Plank (Vasisthasana), stacking your right foot on your left or resting it on the mat in front of your other foot. Bring your right hand to your right hip and find your balance. Then reach your right arm toward the ceiling. Turn your gaze toward either hand.
Wild Thing
From Side Plank, bend your right knee and slowly step your right foot behind you as you continue to press into your left foot Reach your right arm alongside your head and lift your hips toward the ceiling. Gaze at your right hand. Keep lifting your hips and straightening your left leg in Wild Thing (Camatkarasana).
Slowly come out by bringing your right hand back to the mat and coming into Plank. Shift your hips up and back to Down Dog or cycle through Chaturanga, Upward-Facing Dog, and then Down Dog.
Repeat on your left side, taking yourself through Warrior 2, Reverse Warrior, Triangle, Warrior 3, Side Plank, Wild Thing, and Down Dog. Do not rush yourself. If you have time, you can turn your 15-minute morning yoga practice into a 20-minute practice by repeating this sequence at least once.
Seated Head to Knee Pose
From Down Dog, lower your knees to the mat, cross your shins behind you, and sit back as you straighten your legs in front of you. Bend your right knee and bring the bottom of your right foot to your inner left thigh. Inhale and sit tall, and then exhale and twist slightly to the left as you lean your chest toward your left toes while keeping your back straight in Seated Head to Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana). Rest your hands alongside your straight leg, release your shoulders, and breathe.
Feel the stretch along your back body. If it feels intense in your back, sit on a folded blanket. If it feels intense in your hamstrings, slide a rolled blanket beneath your straight knee. If it feels intense in your right hip, tuck a folded blanket under your bent knee.
Slowly lift your chest, bend both knees, and bring your feet on the mat wider than your hips. Windshield wiper your knees side to side. Switch and take head to knee pose on the other side.
Bridge Pose
From windshield wipers on the second side, come onto your back with your feet on the mat and your knees bent. Slide your heels a little closer to your hips. Bring your arms alongside your body, palms facing down. Press into your heels to lift your hips in Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana). Stay here or interlace your fingers behind your back, shimmy your upper arms underneath your back, and press your pinky fingers into the mat. Press the back of your head into the mat, unclench your neck, and reach your hips toward the backs of your knees. Notice if your knees splay out to the sides and, if it helps, squeeze a block or pillow between your thighs. Breathe here.
Slowly unclasp your hands and lower your back to the mat. Let your low back release. If you like, repeat Bridge once or twice.
Half Happy Baby
From lying on the back, continue to press your low back into the mat as you bend your right knee and reach your hand for the outer edge of your foot or your shin in Half Happy Baby. Try to stack your right ankle over your knee. Keep your left leg bent or straighten it along the mat. Release your right shoulder blade to the mat and unclench your jaw. Maybe close your eyes. Breath.
Repeat on the other side.
Savasana
Stay lying on your back and straighten both legs. Perhaps tuck a rolled blanket underneath your knees to create less pressure on your lower back. Let your feet fall out to the sides and relax your arms alongside your body, palms up. Take a long, slow sigh out as you release your shoulders and let your weight sink into the mat in Savasana. Let your breath fall into its natural rhythm. Rest your awareness on your breath and notice if there’s a slight pause after each exhalation. With each breath, let yourself sink a little deeper into that stillness. Linger here as long as you can, perhaps extending this moment and turning your 15-minute morning yoga practice to become more of a 20-minute respite.
