Your life may be overrun with obligations and activities, but the one area you should never skip is exercise. But some days, it’s impossible to get to the yoga studio. Even if you can’t make it to a weekly class, you can still roll out your mat at home and create your own workout, designed specifically for your needs. While it’s great to follow a YouTube video or use an app, sometimes you just want to do your own thing. Follow this guideline, and you’ll be on your way to developing your own sequence in no time! 

Limber Up
As with any exercise, your body needs to be warmed up and prepared for the work you’re about to put it through. This will help you get a better, deeper workout and also avoid injury. Make sure you do some gentle stretches for your neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, legs, and even feet. 

A good way to start is by making small circles with your wrists and ankles, allowing them to loosen up and get the blood flowing, then move from the wrists and ankles to the forearms and calves. Finally, bring your shoulders and knees into the mix, making wider circles first in one direction, then the other.

Another pose that is great for the shoulders is Eagle Arms. Swing your right arm under your left, wrap it around, and interlace your fingers. Hold this for a few breaths, and then switch sides.   

You can never go wrong with Sun Salutations

Sun Salutations are a nice, quick-flowing way of waking up the body. They can either be practiced as a warm-up or as your full exercise routine. The classic Sun Salutation series A has 11 basic parts to it: 

1. Standing Mountain
2. Upward Salute
3. Standing Forward Fold
4. Half Standing Forward Fold
5. Four-Limbed Staff
6. Upward-Facing Dog
7. Downward Facing Dog
8. Half Standing Forward Fold
9. Standing Forward Fold
10. Upward Salute
11. Standing Mountain

As you can see it’s very simple and a few repetitions will definitely get your heart pumping!

Include standing, backbend, inversion, and twist poses

A well-rounded routine includes all of these elements. Even if backbends and inversions sound intimidating, there are plenty of poses that are fit for beginners. Some examples of each are: 

1. Standing: Warrior I, II, and III, Triangle, Chair
2. Backbends: Cobra, Bow, Bridge
3. Inversions: Downward Facing Dog, Legs up the Wall, Extended Puppy
4. Twists: Half Lord of the Fishes, Reclined Spinal Twist, Thread the Needle

Always end with Savasana 

Ah, the wonderful Savasana. The real reason we all go to yoga – the adult version of a nap! It may seem like all you’re doing is lying down, but Savasana has a lot of real benefits that your routine would be incomplete without. 

Also known as Corpse pose, it has been said that this is the hardest pose to do because it requires total surrender. Surrender of control, ego, and the thoughts that will inevitably crop up. Your body and mind are tired after the work you’ve put in, and Savasana takes advantage of that fatigue to get the body to relax completely. Enjoy this time where you don’t have to think about anything at all.  

String together a few of these poses, slide on your favorite yoga leggings, get your body nice and warmed up, and put on some yoga workout music! You might just find that you like your home studio better.

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