Active Recovery Yoga Session
Goal: To focus on active recovery through a gentle yoga session geared towards stretching the muscles, enhancing flexibility, and promoting relaxation.
Daily Benefits: This session helps to ease muscle soreness, improve joint mobility, and reduce mental stress, all of which are beneficial after more intense workout days or stressful activities.
Gentle Warm-Up
- Walking or Light Movement
Instructions: Start with a few minutes of walking or any light movement to gently increase the circulation throughout your body.
Equipment used: None
Duration: 5 minutes
Muscles worked: Cardiovascular system
Main Yoga Poses
- Child’s Pose (Balasana)
Instructions: Kneel on the floor, touch your big toes together, sit on your heels, then separate your knees about as wide as your hips and bow forward. Extend your arms in front of you and relax your forehead on the floor.
Duration: Hold for 2-3 minutes
Muscles worked: Back, shoulders, hips - Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana)
Instructions: Sit on the floor with your legs straight ahead. Flex your feet, inhale and lift your arms overhead, then exhale and reach forward toward your toes, ankles, or shins.
Duration: Hold for 2-3 minutes
Muscles worked: Hamstrings, lower back - Supine Twist (Supta Matsyendrasana)
Instructions: Lie on your back, bring your arms to form a T shape for balance, bring your knees to your chest, then gently let them fall to one side while keeping your shoulders on the floor.
Duration: Hold for 2 minutes each side
Muscles worked: Glutes, back, obliques
Cool-Down Reflection
- Instructions: Finish the session by lying in Corpse Pose (Savasana), allowing your body to absorb the practice’s benefits and your mind to clear. Focus on deep, steady breaths.
Duration: 5-7 minutes
By incorporating this Active Recovery Yoga Session into your weekly fitness routine, you can help your body heal and recover more effectively, enhancing both physical and mental well-being.
