Phase 1 · Make It Easy

Part of the 8 Week Yoga Program for Low Mood and Low Energy

20 Minute Yoga Sequence for Low Mood and Low Energy

The first three weeks. Deliberately easy, because the hard part here is starting rather than the poses.

When the researchers behind this program asked people why they had stopped attending, almost nobody said the yoga had not worked. What they said was that they were too low to leave the house, and that a few of the classes had felt beyond what their body could do. So the first three weeks of this are designed around that rather than around progression. Twenty minutes, nothing complicated, and every pose has a smaller version that counts just as much.

20 min · Level 1

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When it helps

For the first three weeks, twice a week. Morning is often easier than evening with low energy, but the reliable time beats the ideal one. Twenty minutes. A mat and a wall. This is a way to build a movement habit when your energy is low. It is not a treatment for depression and it does not replace therapy or medication. If your mood is getting worse, or you have any thought of harming yourself, that needs a person rather than a practice.

Getting going

The point of these three weeks is not the poses. It is that something happened twice this week that would not otherwise have happened.

Physical effect

Gentle back bends and a small amount of standing work. The front of the body opening is the part the trials put weight on.

What to expect

The routine is the first thing that changes and it changes quickly. Mood takes longer, and that order is normal rather than a sign it is not working.

Start on the floor

Four minutes before anything has to be decided.

Sukhasana

2 min

Easy Pose

Sit down. Nothing to achieve. Two minutes of ordinary breathing while you get used to being here.

Starting on the floor is easier than starting standing when energy is low, and that is a real design decision rather than a soft one.

Learn more about Sukhasana

Marjaryasana

1 min

Cat Pose

Hands and knees, rounding the back as you breathe out.

The smallest movement in the program, and enough to count as having started.

Learn more about Marjaryasana

Bitilasana

1 min

Cow Pose

Chest forward on the in breath. Eight rounds.

The first opening of the front of the body, which is the direction this program keeps coming back to.

Learn more about Bitilasana

Get up

Five minutes standing. If standing up is the hardest part today, the five minute session is a complete alternative.

Urdhva Hastasana

45 sec

Upward Salute

Stand and reach both arms overhead, ribs lifting away from the hips.

The simplest possible upright pose, and the one that changes how the chest sits more than it looks like it should.

Learn more about Urdhva Hastasana

Utkatasana

45 sec, twice

Chair Pose

Chair Pose, sitting back. Hands on a chair back if you like.

A small amount of real effort. Not for fitness, for the fact that you did it.

Learn more about Utkatasana

Open the front

Back bends and then the floor. This is the part both of the strongest protocols emphasised.

Bhujangasana

30 sec, twice

High Cobra Pose

Face down, hands under the shoulders, lifting only as far as is comfortable. Low counts.

The front of the body lengthening. Both of the trials with the clearest results named this direction specifically.

Learn more about Bhujangasana

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

45 sec, twice

Bridge Pose

On your back, hips lifting, feet pressing down.

The same direction with the floor supporting you, which makes it the easier of the two.

Learn more about Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

Apanasana

1 min

Knees to Chest Pose

Knees drawn towards the chest, arms loose.

Everything comes down.

Learn more about Apanasana

Savasana

4 min

Corpse Pose

Flat on your back, covered if you are cold. Four minutes.

Every protocol in this research ended here. Four minutes is not the leftover time, it is part of the session.

Learn more about Savasana

Phase 1 · Weeks 1 to 3

This practice is part of a program

It belongs to Make It Easy, the first phase of the 8 Week Yoga Program for Low Mood and Low Energy. The program says how often to practise it, what comes before and after, and when to move on.

See the whole program →

Integration

Twice a week for the first three weeks. If a session is not going to happen, do the five minute one instead. That is not a lesser version, it is the version that keeps the streak from breaking.

The teacher behind this sequence

Gründer & Autor

Manish Rana

Gründer von Asanaverse.de. Manish schreibt über Yoga, Ayurveda und Meditation und verdankt seine tiefe Verbindung zum Yoga seinen indischen Wurzeln. Mit über 1000 Stunden Yoga Alliance Teacher Training gibt er sein Wissen an die Community weiter.

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Go deeper into the poses

Every asana in this practice has a page of its own. You will find alignment cues, what the shape actually works on, and the energetics behind it.

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