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Sometimes you simply want—or need—to move your body in a way that feels good. This 20-minute feel good yoga flow is designed for exactly those times.
The 20-minute yoga class stretches you from head to toe by targeting your hips, hamstrings, shoulders, chest, and back. It’s essentially a mix of standing and seated poses that address tension in the hips and hamstrings with the classic Low Lunges, Lizard, Side Lunge, and Pigeon. It also includes all of the essential spinal movements—flexion, extension, rotation, and lateral extension—and ends with some release for the neck and shoulders.
The feel good flow is more of an intermediate practice because the pace is a little quicker than usual, which requires some familiarity with the poses as you flow through them rather than lingering in each for a few breaths. When you repeat the 20-minute yoga sequence regularly, the poses and transitions will become more familiar and you’ll find it easier to tune into your body and truly let yourself go with the flow.
20-Minute Feel Good Yoga Flow
Even a 20-minute yoga practice can have a profound effect on your physical, mental, and emotional health. This is an intermediate level practice with no props required (although you are always encouraged to use them in support of your practice). Support yourself throughout your feel good yoga flow by making certain you’re not holding your breath.
Child’s Pose (Balasana)
Bring your big toes together and your knees apart and release your head and chest toward the mat in Child’s Pose. Begin by taking some deep breaths, in and out through your nose, breathing all the way into your low belly and your lower back. Use this pose to notice where there might be tension. Relax your arms and slide your shoulder blades down your back. Linger here.
Cat and Cow (Marjaryasana and Bitilasana)
Ease your way into Tabletop or hands and knees. Bring your knees in a little so they’re underneath your hips, spread your fingertips wide, and come into Cat and Cow. Inhale as you lower your belly and lift your gaze in Cow Pose.
Exhale as you reverse that motion and round your back in Cat. Really articulate through the spine and stretch across your chest and upper back. Keep going through both poses, keeping that feel good yoga flow vibe by syncing movement with your breath, letting your neck fully release whenever you round your back.
Cobra (Bhujangasana) Flow
Lower onto your belly, take your hands a little wider than your shoulders, and inhale as you press into the tops of your feet and lift your chest. Bring your forearms to the mat to support yourself in Cobra but only after you engage the muscles of the lower back to lift your upper body. If you experience discomfort in your lower back, try taking your feet wider.
Exhale as you press into your hands and knees and send your hips all the way back as if you were coming into Child’s Pose. Continue moving with your breath, weaving back and forth between a variation of Child’s to a variation of Cobra. It’s almost as if you’re doing Cat and Cow, so as you inhale you find a backbend in Cobra and as you exhale, round through the spine and press your hips as far back as they’ll go in Child’s Pose.
Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
As you inhale, come back to your hands and knees. As you exhale, tuck your toes and come into Downward-Facing Dog. Take your feet toward the edges of the mat to give yourself more space and begin to stretch through your hamstrings. Maybe you bend a little through your knees, reaching your chest toward your thighs. Relax your neck.
Squat (Malasana)
Walk your hands toward the back of the mat and then turn your heels in and your toes out. Ease your way into a yoga squat. I like to bring my hands together at the chest and use my elbows to push the knees outward. Think of lengthening your spine in this pose and pressing your shoulders down so almost as if you could grow taller here.
Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana)
Find your rag doll in a Standing Forward Bend. You can absolutely keep your knees bent and maybe grab your upper arms or sway a little side to side. Relax your neck and let gravity do the work for you here.
Slowly make your way back to Downward Facing Dog with your feet hip-width apart.
Scorpion Dog
Lift your right leg, bend your knee, and let your heel hang behind you to open your hip. Take a big stretch here. Maybe trace some big circles with your right knee, imagining you’re drawing a circle on the ceiling with your left knee.
Lizard
Step your right foot forward to the outer edge of your right hand so both hands are on the inside of your right leg. I like to make fists so the pose is a little easier on my wrists. You can drop your back knee to the mat and/or lift your front toes and roll onto the outer edge of your right foot. If your flexibility allows, you can intensify the pose by lowering onto your forearms. Make sure you’re not holding your breath as you stretch.
Twisted Lizard
If you want to intensify the stretch, add a twist and a quad stretch by lowering your left knee to the mat if it isn’t already, bending your left knee, bringing your heel toward your hips, and reaching your right behind you to reach for your foot. Roll your right shoulder back and down and pull your heel a little closer to your seat. Keep sinking your hips forward and down.
Carefully release the hold of your back foot.
Side Lunge (Skandasana)
Pivot on your heels to face the long side of the mat as you keep your right knee bent and your left leg straight. Point your left toes toward the ceiling. It’s up to you what you choose to do with your arms, whether you bring your hands to the mat for balance, press your palms together at your chest in prayer hands and perhaps nudge your knee more open with your elbow, or extend your arms out to open through your chest. It’s a little bit of a balancing act here. Try to sink your hips a little lower to get into your hamstrings. Breathe here.
When you’re ready, transition to the second side of your feel good yoga sequence by bending your left knee and straightening your right leg. Just try to sink your hips down nice and low.
Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana II)
You need strong legs as you transition from Side Lunge to Warrior 2 by bending into your right knee and pushing yourself up into Warrior 2. Keep your right knee in line with your second and third toes as you reach your arms straight out to the sides.
Reverse Warrior (Viparita Virabhadrasana)
Nothing changes in your legs as you come into Reverse Warrior by reaching your left hand down and your right arm overhead and leaning back. Keep your chest facing the long side of the mat.
Triangle Pose (Trikonasana)
Straighten your right leg and lean to the side in Triangle Pose. Reach your right arm down and your left arm up. Don’t worry about how far down you’re getting your lower hand. Think of rolling your top shoulder back as if you were leaning against the wall behind you.
Push your feet into the mat as you lift yourself to standing.
Pyramid Pose (Parsvakonasana)
Shorten your stance a little by bringing your back foot in a little and turning your hips to face the short side of the mat. Fold forward at the hips in Pyramid Pose. Let your upper body relax. You can definitely keep a bend in your knees if your hamstrings are feeling quite tight. I also like to let my head hang heavy and my spine round a little in a more passive version of a forward fold.
Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)
Lift your right leg behind you in Three-Legged Dog and then bring your right knee behind your right wrist in Pigeon Pose. Try to square your hips to the short side of the mat and find a little backbend here as you expand and broaden through your chest. You can do this with the support of your hands alongside you. Maintain the length you created in your spine as you stay here or lower your chest toward the mat. Stay here for a good 10 breaths before. Try not to lean on one hip more than the other. You’ll probably feel a big stretch in your right glutes and hip. Notice where you can relax a little more.
Very carefully ease your way out and take your time as you find your way into Downward-Facing Dog. Repeat the feel good yoga sequence of poses on your left side, beginning with Scorpion Dog. Come back to your last Downward Dog and take up some space and stretch everything out here. Linger as long as you like, knowing that you can spend a little more time here in your 20-minute yoga practice.
Seated Neck Stretch
Lower yourself to the mat and find a comfortable cross-legged seat or some other position that feels comfortable for you. Interlace your hands and bring them toward your right hip. Then lower your right ear toward your right shoulder to stretch the left side of your neck and shoulder. You can play a little bit with the angle of your chin here to change the sensation of the pose. This can be a pretty intense stretch. Try not to round or slouch your back as you do this. Then switch sides.
Eagle Arms
Let’s take Eagle arms with your right arm wrapping underneath your left. Don’t worry if your palms don’t touch. Lift your elbows up, keep your shoulders down, tuck your chin slightly toward your chest, and keep leaning your hands away from your face. Stay lifted and tall to stretch through the upper back. Release and repeat on the other side.
Seated Cross-Legged Meditation (Sukhasana)
Instead of coming into Savasana after your feel good yoga flow, you have the option of ending with a brief meditation while sitting cross-legged. Keep your eyes closed as you focus on your breath. Take a moment to scan your body, from your head to your fingers and toes, noticing how you feel now as opposed to when you started. Observe what has changed and shifted as a result of your 20-minute yoga practice.
About Our Contributor
Kassandra Reinhardt is an Ottawa-based Yin Yoga and vinyasa yoga instructor whose YouTube channel, Yoga With Kassandra, has grown to 2.2 million subscribers and has more than 230 million views. Kassandra recently released her guided yoga journal, My Yoga Journey: A Guided Journal, her daily affirmation card deck, I Radiate Joy,and her book, Year of Yoga.
