30 Minute Full Body Yoga Stretch for Stress & Anxiety Relief is a “yoga nidra practice” from Sara Beth. I had to look this up because I have never heard of Nidra yoga before, but it seems to me that it is a form of Yin Yoga. It’s supposed to be similar to meditation. Like Yin Yoga, Sara has you holding the poses for a long time. Some of them are very deep, so it isn’t always easy to relax. Sara talks you through the entire practice, not just giving form instructions but also to help you release anxiety and tension. So her soothing voice and words help. So, perhaps a sort of guided meditation while holding some deep stretches. Though not all of the poses are stretches. The belly savasana is just relaxing! I found the neck stretches at the beginning surprisingly uncomfortable. Not when doing my left side. That felt good but my right side is so tense/tight! I do suffer from chronic neck pain and have gotten shots and ablations with little relief. The stretch was so deep for me that I felt it from neck down to the end of my shoulder cap! This is a relaxing and feel good yoga practice, but it also gave me some deep stretching. Another winner from Sara Beth!
30 Minute Full Body Yoga Stretch for Stress & Anxiety Relief is 32:19 minutes. The practice is actually 30 minutes; the last 2 minutes is Sara talking about her yoga app. Equipment: fitness mat. Optional: folded blanket or pillow. I used my bolster for a few of the poses (#9 I place it under my hips, a variation that Sara demonstrates, and #10 to rest my forehead on when hinged forward).
- Sit cross-leg on mat with eyes closed, do shoulder circles
- Still sitting cross-leg, extend one arm behind you and to the side, fingertips on the mat and bend head in opposite direction, stretching the neck; change head position so you are looking down toward arm pit, head bent at a 45 degree angle; turn head to face the side and nod head up and down
- Lay face down on mat with head turned to one side, arms are extended along body, close to sides, relax in this position (belly savasana)
- Lying spinal twist (Sara talks you through getting into this post from belly savasana)
- Repeat #3 with head facing in opposite direction
- Repeat #4 twisting toward other side
- Child’s pose
- Cat/cow
- Still on all 4s, bring one leg in front of you, extending it straight and out to side on a slight diagonal with heel on the mat, hinge torso forward over straight leg; shift hips backward so you are sitting on back heel (or on pillow)
- Pigeon pose variation with torso upright (knee is in the center of the mat and heel is at the opposite hip); hinge torso forward over front leg
- Sit cross-leg with hands in prayer
For more info on SaraBethYoga and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
