A lot of people complain that an exhausting work schedule leaves little time for exercise. So, we thought why not share yoga stretches and poses that will take only 5 minutes to practice!

In this blog, top yoga teachers in Rishikesh share 4 yoga stretches and poses that will take only 5 minutes to perform.  We guarantee that they will generate great benefits for your stiff back, neck, and overall body!

Let’s put a spotlight on the first yoga pose for kids and adults:

Mountain pose with prayer hands

A mountain pose with prayer hands is a kickstart to promote a healthy flow of energy in your body during your 5-minute yoga routine. Also known as Pranamasana, it creates a sense of relaxation, and concentration before performing intense yoga poses. Also, it also makes us respect and admire our surroundings.

Yoga posture benefits: Performing Pranamasana during your 5-minute yoga routine for kids and adults every morning will give you the following benefits:

• It nourishes the soul to maintain a balance between the body and mind. 
• It boosts your decision-making abilities by enhancing mental awareness. 
• It helps improve your body posture.
• It helps create soulful energy that purifies your entire body, mind, and soul. 

Performing mountain pose with prayer hands

Performing mountain pose with prayer hands during your 5-minute yoga routine isn’t technically challenging but requires focus to perform it correctly. Below are the steps to perform Pranamasana:

• Stand erect on your yoga mat with both feet together. 
• Unite the palms in prayer facing each other equidistant to your chest.
• Look straight and close your eyes. Feel the silence. 
• Tune into the expansion and contraction of your ribcage as you lengthen and deepen your breath. 
• Chant a few mantras to bring a sense of spirituality to your practice.

By holding this yoga pose for at least five breaths, you can create a conscious relationship with your body and prepare it for intense morning yoga poses included in this 5-minute routine.

Extended side angle pose

Sitting in front of your desktop or laptop for long hours during the COVID-19 pandemic might trigger back and shoulder pain. That’s why we recommend you to add extended side angle pose to your 5-minute yoga routine. Also known as Utthita Parsvakonasana, it is a standing pose that stretches your legs, knees, hips, and ankles, boosting your endurance and stamina.

Yoga posture benefits: Following are the benefits that you will get by practicing extended side angle yoga pose for 5-minutes in the morning:

• It stretches your legs, ankles, and knees. 
• It increases flexibility in the shoulders. 
• By performing Utthita Parsvakonasana, you can work on your core muscles, increasing strength and flexibility.  

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How to perform an extended side angle pose?

Performing an extended side angle pose could be a problem for beginners. But with our step-by-step instructions, you can perform this 5 minutes morning yoga pose easily and make no mistakes:

• At first, stand facing the long side of your yoga mat with your feet about a leg distance apart. 
• Put your right foot forward by making sure that its toes are pointing to the short edge of the mat. 
• Keep your left foot stable at the angle of 45 degrees.
• Bend your right knee so that your calf and thigh form a right angle with your thigh parallel to the floor.
• Breathe out and extend your body over the right leg. Bring the right arm down and place it with the elbow on the right thigh. 
• Now, lift your left arm up, making sure that it faces the ceiling. 
• Open your chest by keeping one thing in mind that your left shoulder is aligned over your right shoulder.
• Stare up to your left hand. 
• Release it by pressing securely into your back foot and exhaling as you come into a standing position with arms extended at shoulder height. Keep the feet and body face in the same direction. 
• At last, switch to your other feet to repeat the process on the other side. 

Watch the video if it seems complex!

By following the above steps, you can perform an extended side angle pose during your 5-mins yoga routine. This morning yoga pose is a little challenging for children and suited more for adults. 

Child’s pose

Performing the Child’s pose after finishing a tough yoga pose like Utthita Parsvakonasana is quite relaxing. Famous by the name of Balasana, it is a glorious yoga pose for both children and adults that is often used as a resting position between more challenging asanas during 5 minutes of yoga practice. Working professionals in stressful jobs should make Child yoga stretch an integral part of their workout routine.

Yoga posture benefits: Following are the benefits of performing this yoga practice posture:

• It helps to stretch hips, thighs, and ankles while reducing stress & fatigue. 
• It elongates the lower back of your body.
• It centers, calms, and soothes the brain, making it a curative posture for eliminating stress. 
• It can also help you relieve back and neck pain. 

How to perform a child’s pose?

The child’s pose is one of the easiest yoga poses to perform. However, if you are new to the yoga world and practicing 5-minute yoga routine for the first time, the following tips will help you out:

• Kneel on the floor. Make sure that your big toes touch each other.
• Sit on your heels and separate your knees as wide as your hips. 
• Stretch the rest of your body down and forward. 
• While in a fully stretched position, keep your arms in a relaxed position along with the floor. Rest your stomach adequately on top of your thighs and your forehead on the mat. 

Stay in the same position for 1-2 minutes. By following the steps given above, you can perform the child’s pose with zero difficulty. Still having trouble? Check out this video on the morning stretch for kids and adults.

Right nostril breathing

Time to put the spotlight on the last yoga pose of our 5-minute yoga stretch guide! Right nostril breathing – also known as Surya Bhedana pranayama – is a pranayama modification that stimulates vital life force inside the human body. It destroys diseases raised from the excess of wind, purifies your brain, and heals ailments caused by bacteria.

Performing right nostril breathing during your 5-minutes stress reviver yoga schedule helps cultivate awareness around the base of the spine region. Let’s learn how to perform this yoga position for kids and adults.

Performing Surya Bhedana Pranayama

Below is the step-by-step guide to performing Surya Bhedana Pranayama:  

• Sit in a comfortable pose by keeping your backbone straight. 
• Close the left nostril with your finger and start breathing in for a few seconds. 
• Now, hold both nostrils with your thumb and ring finger. Hold your breath. 
• Open your left nostril and exhale slowly & steadily. 

By following the above steps, you can perform the right nostril breathing easily. Here’s some advice from our experienced yoga experts! Surya Behedana pranayama should always be practiced with an empty stomach. Also, the inhalations should be done via the right nostril while exhalations through the left!

The video below will make performing Surya Bhedana Pranayama an easy task for you!

That’s all with our 5-minute yoga poses and stretches guide!

By performing the above yoga poses daily, you can beat the daily ‘work from home’ stress in no time and engage your children in yoga as well. If you are not familiar with the ABC of yoga, we highly recommend joining our post-COVID yoga retreat for beginners in Rishikesh.

Got queries regarding our yoga retreats and yoga teacher training programs? Send them at info@spiritualpunditz.com and have them answered by our experienced yoga teachers.