Evening Yoga to Unwind
A slow routine for the end of the day: loosen up standing, open the hips and back on the floor, and finish lying down. Pick 5, 10 or 20 minutes.
14 poses · breathe 4 s in, 5 s out
Stop if something hurts, and check with a doctor before starting if you have a health condition, are pregnant or are recovering from an injury. Easier versions for knees and wrists are under each pose. SourcesTerms
The 10-minute sequence
| # | Pose | Hold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 breaths0:27 | |
| 2 | Standing Side BendRight side | 3 breaths0:27 |
| 3 | Standing Forward Fold Bend your knees generously and let your arms hang. | 4 breaths0:36 |
| 4 | Cat-Cow Sore wrists? Make fists, or rest on your forearms. Knees: fold a blanket under them. | 6 rounds0:30 |
| 5 | Child’s Pose Knees complain? Put a pillow between your hips and heels, or one under your knees. | 5 breaths0:45 |
| 6 | 4 breaths0:36 | |
| 7 | Low LungeRight side | 4 breaths0:36 |
| 8 | 5 breaths0:45 | |
| 9 | Seated Forward Fold Sit on a folded blanket and bend your knees. | 5 breaths0:45 |
| 10 | Bridge Pose Keep it low, a few centimetres off the floor. | 4 breaths0:36 |
| 11 | Supine TwistLeft side | 4 breaths0:36 |
| 12 | Supine TwistRight side | 4 breaths0:36 |
| 13 | Knees-to-Chest Pose Hold the backs of your thighs instead of your shins. | 4 breaths0:36 |
| 14 | Corpse Pose A pillow under your knees helps a sensitive lower back. | 6 breaths0:54 |
What the 10 minutes look like
You start on your feet with a side bend each way and a loose forward fold, knees bent. On all fours come six rounds of cat-cow, then child’s pose. A low lunge on each side stretches the front of the hips after a day of sitting, and sphinx pose gently opens the chest. Then you sit for a forward fold, lie back for a bridge, let your knees fall to each side in a lying twist, hug your knees in and rest in corpse pose. The circle slows to 4 seconds in and 5 seconds out, so the session gets quieter as it goes.
Why the breath slows down
Each breath here takes 9 seconds, between six and seven a minute, with the out-breath a second longer than the in-breath. In a lab study, people who breathed slowly with a long out-breath felt more relaxed than with the same pace and a long in-breath (Van Diest et al., 2014). A review of slow-breathing studies links rates under ten a minute with calmer heart rhythms and mood, though the studies are small and short (Zaccaro et al., 2018).
If the pace feels like a strain, breathe at your own rhythm: the poses still change on time.
Evening or bedtime?
This routine still has some movement in it: a lunge, a backbend and a bridge. The US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute suggests keeping the hour before bed quiet and free of intense exercise, so do this one after dinner, and use the bedtime routine, which stays on the floor and slows the breath further, right before sleep.
The 20-minute version adds puppy pose, pigeon, a seated twist and happy baby, with a longer rest at the end.
Sources
- Van Diest et al., Inhalation/exhalation ratio modulates the effect of slow breathing on heart rate variability and relaxation (Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback), 2014
- Zaccaro et al., How breath-control can change your life: a systematic review on psycho-physiological correlates of slow breathing (Frontiers in Human Neuroscience), 2018
- NHLBI (NIH): Healthy sleep habits, 2022
- NCCIH (NIH): Yoga: What You Need To Know, 2023
How this works: Method, 5 sources, Checked against 1 worked example,
How this works
Method
Each flow is a sequence of poses from the exercise library, held for a number of breaths or repeated in rounds, on both sides where a pose has sides. The timer paces every breath (2.5 seconds in and out by default; the time-of-day routines set their own, down to 4 in and 6 out at bedtime) and gives a few seconds to move into each pose, and the minutes shown are those seconds added up. The time-of-day routines are ordered so the effort builds and then settles: upright and on all fours first in the morning, standing to lying down in the evening, the floor only at bedtime.
Sources
- Van Diest et al., Inhalation/exhalation ratio modulates the effect of slow breathing on heart rate variability and relaxation (Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback) (2014)
- Zaccaro et al., How breath-control can change your life: a systematic review on psycho-physiological correlates of slow breathing (Frontiers in Human Neuroscience) (2018)
- NHLBI (NIH): Healthy sleep habits (2022)
- NCCIH (NIH): Yoga: What You Need To Know (2023)
- Cramer et al., Adverse events associated with yoga: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (American Journal of Epidemiology) (2015)
How it’s tested
One worked example for this page is checked by automated tests before every release: given the inputs, the tool must show the expected answer.
Limits
Stop if something hurts, and check with a doctor before starting if you have a health condition, are pregnant or are recovering from an injury.
Changes
- Yoga by time of day: morning, afternoon desk, evening and bedtime routines in 2–3 lengths each, slower breath pacing in the evening, easier versions for knees and wrists, and 7 new poses.
- First version: guided follow-along flows with a 3D figure, a breath-paced timer, a chime and spoken pose names.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between evening and bedtime yoga here?
Evening yoga starts standing and includes a lunge, a backbend and a bridge, at 4 seconds in and 5 out. Bedtime yoga is all on the floor, mostly lying down, with longer holds and 4 seconds in and 6 out. Do the evening one earlier, the bedtime one last thing.
Pigeon pose hurts my knee. What should I do?
Skip it, or do the lying version: on your back, cross one ankle over the opposite knee and draw both legs in (a figure four). It stretches the same hip without twisting the knee.
Can I do evening yoga after dinner?
Yes, after a light meal. After a big one, give it a while first, since the folds and twists press on the belly.
Do I have to breathe exactly with the circle?
No. The circle is a guide: in as it grows, out as it shrinks. If the pace is too slow for you, breathe naturally and let the timer and chime tell you when to move.