Best Yoga Poses to Wind Down After a Long Day

You’ve practiced with them on YogaGlo. You’ve followed them on Facebook. You might even take their classes in person once in awhile if they travel to or live in your city. But how well do you know our YogaGlo teachers? We’ve created a new series, Ask a Yogi, so you can learn more about them by asking questions you’ve always wanted to ask.

From favorite poses and tips for beginners to deeper questions about how their practice has changed their worldview, our teachers will collectively answer a new question each week. If you have a questions that you’d like to “Ask a Yogi”, let us know in the comments or email us at hello@yogaglo.com and we’ll add your question to the list. Today’s Ask a Yogi question is:

Elena Brower: Restoratives of any kind. Whatever my body wants, I do. And I love this one: http://bit.ly/KiZxDa

Kathryn Budig: Legs up the wall and a supported reclined Bound Angle Pose. They’re the best.

Jason Crandell: Cross-legged forward bend with my head on a bolster is a pretty good bet when I’m tired but need a little help settling my mind and nerves.

Tiffany Cruikshank: Virasana is great for me to start with because I spend a lot of the day on my feet so it compresses the tissues to revitalize my legs. Headstand is also a great one, it rejuvenates me mentally & physically especially if I’ve already practiced and I just need a booster.

Steven Espinosa: Balasana (Childs Pose) for sure. Supported Bridge (a block under my sacrum) is also good to relax. But mainly lower body stretches. Inner/outer hip openers, quads and hamstrings. I find that by doing this it helps release tension and relieve tightness in my lower back. It also allows my central nervous system to calm down before I go to sleep.

Marc Holzman: The 20-15-10 sequence: 20 long breaths in headstand, 15 long breaths in Vipariti Karani and 10 long breaths in shoulder stand

Amy Ippoliti: Supta Padangustasana is a favorite, to the side, the front and a twist.

Tara Judelle: I am a fan of forward bends. Sometimes I might do a five minute forward bend, a five minute headstand, and lie in Vipariti Karani (with legs up the wall), then sit for meditation. Total unwind reset.

Dice Iida-Klein: A good sequence with forward folds and hip openers helps me unwind from a long day.Upavistha Konasana, Pigeon Prep, Janu Sirsasana, Paschimottonasana and some Virasana is always on my menu!

Kia Miller: Forward bends or legs up the wall. My favorite is a relaxing bath, then meditation to cleanse and clear my mind!

Christina Sell: Shoulderstand. But I usually do my practice early in the day which helps “long and hectic” not take as much of a toll.

Sianna Sherman: Hanumanasana and Viparita Karani (legs up the wall)

Stephanie Snyder: I love a long pigeon or straddle forward fold. Anything that unwinds my back and hips is beneficial.

Jo Tastula: If I’m feeling particularly studios I’ll do a full supported legs up the wall pose (Viparita Karani) with bolster under the hips, strap around the shins and lavender eye pillow. Just thinking about it gets me sleepy…

Felicia Tomasko: I love love love an active practice, especially in the mornings. I love standing pose sequences, twists, and balancing, but when it’s time to wind down and the world has been buffeting me around, and I need to reset my nervous system, then it’s yin and/or restorative. Since I spend long hours at a computer, I need to cross-train my computer body. So in those cases, it’s a long yin-style forward fold. I have to set a timer, put on some music, and keep breathing. Then it’s a supine twist, some knees into the chest, and a bridge with a block series (one of my all-time favorite decompress the low back poses). Personally, I need yoga for the hands, since I type and text voraciously, which is one of the reasons I often include those sequences in my classes. And a steady standby for nervous system and low back reboot: legs up the wall with an eye pillow over my eyes.