Yoga For Stress And Anxiety | Gentle Stretch To Unwind

This accessible, gentle yoga practice invites you to slow down, ground yourself, and release stress and anxiety.
Designed with softness in mind, this class weaves together somatic movement, mindful breathwork, and gentle stretching to help regulate your nervous system and reconnect with your body.
Perfect to do anytime you’re feeling overwhelmed. This short session supports emotional balance, relaxation, and presence—no experience or fancy props needed. Come as you are.

Transcript

Hi friend, I'm Laia. Welcome to this yoga for stress management class. This will be a short accessible practice for you to maybe pick one or two exercises that resonate with you and that you can maybe take other places. So it's not just a practice that you can do on your mat but some of these exercises you can take out into the world and they can really help you when you're moving through stressful situations. Bring yourself to a comfortable seat and just take a moment to actually rock yourself a little side to side as you arrive and you gaze down or maybe you close your eyes. Inhale, Lift your shoulders up toward your ears, Make fists with your hands, Squeeze. Exhale, Release. Two more like that. Inhale, Make fists, Shoulders up toward your ears, Squeeze everything, Release. One more inhale, Tighten, Tighten, Tighten and let go. Let your hands rest on your lap or your knees. Take a deep breath in through the nose normally and out through the nose or the mouth, Letting go, Relaxing a bit more as you arrive into this practice. Take a moment to notice what's going on in your mind. The sense of urgency or not doing enough or not being good enough. Just observe what's going on without judging it. Let's see if you can start to create a slight separation between the thoughts and you, The observer. You don't have to believe everything that your mind says. Right now, You are here, You're grounded, You are present, You are well. So whether you feel overwhelmed by things of the past or stressed out about the future, I invite you for just the next few minutes to nudge yourself right in between in the present moment where you truly are and where life truly happens. Deep breath in, Let it go. Reach your arms out and up, Interlace your hands overhead, Inhale, Flip your palms up. Exhale, Lean a little bit toward the left, Open the right side body. Back to the center as you breathe in, Lengthen, Breathe out, Lean a little bit to the other side. And back to the center as you inhale. Exhale, Release your fingertips and roll your wrists as you bring your arms all the way down. Bring your fingertips on the floor next to you, Relax your shoulders, Lengthen through the arms, Through the neck and all the way up to the crown of the head. Breathe in, Breathe out, Bring the right ear to the right shoulder, Extending the left side. Inhale, Back to the center. Exhale, Left ear to the left shoulder this time. Come back to the center, Breathe in, Breathe out, Lower your chin down toward your chest and maybe move your chin a little bit side to side from shoulder to shoulder as if you were tracing your clavicles. One more breath. And then slowly pause at the center, Bring your chin up, Inhale, Take your arms all the way out to the sides, Face your palms forward. And as you exhale, Bend your elbows and take your hands behind your head. They could just rest behind your head or maybe they interlace. Draw your elbows wide, Breathe in. And as you breathe out, Look over to the right. And just let yourself stay there for a couple of moments. Maybe a yawn comes on its own. Maybe you just invite a yawn. Return your gaze to center, Inhale. Exhale, Take your gaze to the left this time. And again, Just maybe patiently and kindly and gently wait for a yawn. Or eventually, Maybe you just invite one. Return to center, Release your arms, Inhale, Stretch them up. Exhale, Take your left hand toward your right knee and your right hand behind you, Taking a gentle twist to the right side. Notice the sitting bones grounded, Inhale to lengthen. Exhale, Maybe you twist a little bit more. Again, Inhale and exhale. Reach your right arm up toward the sky, Inhale. Exhaling a little bit toward the left, Creating leverage and extension with the hand that's on the knee. Maybe your gaze goes up a bit. One more breath. Inhale, Slowly lift your torso. Now cross your right elbow over the left. And as you bend your elbows, Bring your hands toward opposite ears. If that feels a little bit tight or uncomfortable, Just uncross and just bring your fingertips to your ears. Yeah, Just pinching the ears and then just pull alternately one and the other or massage them. Breathe in. Breathe out. One more inhale. And as you exhale, Release your arms, Lift them out and up, Inhale. Exhale this time, Right hand to your left knee, Left hand behind you, Taking a twist, Find length to inhale and twist a little bit more to exhale. And see how you can soften a bit. Inhale, Take your left arm straight up, Find length. Exhale, Lean as little or as much as you want toward the right. Make sure you're breathing. And then slowly bring your torso up. And as you bring your torso forward, Start to cross your left elbow over the right, Bend at the elbows and maybe catch opposite ears, The earlobes and massage them. You could also uncross the arms and do the same. One more inhale. And on your exhale, Release your arms, Take them all the way out to the sides, Breathe in, Breathe out, Bring your hands behind you, Press your palms and lift your chest staying here. Maybe you also lift your hips opening to the front body a bit more. One more inhalation. Exhale, Slowly lower your hips down, Draw your knees toward one another and give yourself a hug. And you could stay here, Swing side to side a few breaths. You could also bring yourself to child's pose. So big toes together, Knees wide and send your hips back toward the heels, Make a pile with your hands. You can choose either shape, Whatever feels best on your body right now. Stillness or a little bit of movement. Inhaling. Side out. Two more. Inhale, Fill up your body. Let it go. One more deep breath in through the nose, Filling up the entire body. In your next inhalation, If you are in child's pose, Press yourself up. If you're hugging your knees to your chest, Start to bring your feet in front of you a little bit wider than your hips and then move your knees a little side to side for a moment. Now start to slide your left foot to the outside of your right hip and you can bring your right foot in front of the shin or across. Lengthen your spine. Inhale. And on your exhalation, Take a twist to the right once again. Maybe this time you go a little bit deeper. One more breath. And then let yourself return to center. Now stack your right knee over the left, Sitting between the heels, Or you could also lengthen your left leg. Yeah, Whatever feels best on your hips. One is no better than the other. Inhale, Lengthen your spine. And on your exhalation, Stay or maybe let yourself go forward and down. Noticing the sensations that arise and how you choose to soften and let go of the tension, The discomfort, If it's ready to be released. Otherwise, It's just acknowledgement. I know I'm stressed. I know I feel tight. And it's okay because this too shall pass. One more breath here. Inhale. And exhale. Slowly rise. Lean back a bit to uncross the knees. And this time slide your right leg and right foot on the outside of the hip. And your left foot can be in front of you or across the knee. Lengthen your spine. Breathe in. And breathe out. Just take a twist for a moment or two toward the left now. One more breath. And as you inhale, Return to center. Stack your left knee on top of the right, Or if you'd rather, Extend your right leg in front of you. Lengthening through the spine. Breathe in. Breathe out. Stay or maybe go a little bit forward. Your hands could rest on your knees or in front of you or on the sides. Where could you soften a bit physically, Mentally, Energetically? Use your awareness, Your breath, To invite gentleness, To invite release, To invite the knowing that you are okay. One more breath here. And then slowly press yourself up and cross the knees. Maybe shake out your legs for a moment. You could lie down for a few moments as well or just find a comfortable seat. One hand to your heart, One hand to your abdomen. I'm just taking a moment here of gratitude for the fact that you are aware that you are stressed. You can feel the discomfort. You can move through it and come out the other side. I am enough. I've got this. Enough. I've got this. Take a deep breath in. Truly sigh it out. Once you feel complete, Release your hands and open your eyes. I hope that you have enjoyed this yoga practice for stress management. And as I said at the beginning, Consider maybe one of the exercises or techniques or poses that I shared with that truly helped you feel even if it was just a one percent release. That may be a practice or technique that you want to take with you and explore more often so that it becomes something that you can pull out of your toolbox when you truly need it. I hope that you've enjoyed this class. I look forward to practicing with you again soon. Until then, Take care.

Reviews

Thank u for a peaceful release

Lovely session 🤍

This was so calming for my frazzled nervous system. Thank you so much.

thank you <3

So beautiful!!! A short calming practice!!!!