10 Minute Yoga Routine for Beginners

About this plan

Three ten-minute sequences, each targeting a different area, with every pose held for thirty seconds. Beginner-friendly and done at home without props.

Day one is the spine and hips: child's pose, cat-cow, downward dog, cobra, the world's greatest stretch and a pigeon hip stretch. Day two is upper body — shoulder circles, arm circles, the open book, thread the needle, a chest stretch and standing work. Day three is hips and hamstrings, with 90/90, a kneeling hip flexor stretch, hip circles, a seated groin stretch and hamstring work.

Ten minutes is enough because the sequences do not overlap. Running all three in a week covers spine, shoulders, hips and hamstrings properly, which is more than a single longer session usually manages.

Cat-cow on day one is the pose to slow down on. Move one vertebra at a time rather than swinging between the two shapes, and let the breath lead — inhale as the back drops, exhale as it rounds. Thirty seconds is about six breaths at that pace.

The 90/90 on day three is the most useful hip position most people have never tried. Sit with one leg bent in front at ninety degrees and the other bent out to the side at ninety, then rotate to switch. It trains internal and external hip rotation together, which is the range that disappears from sitting and that nothing else on a typical stretching list addresses.

Do not push into pain. Stretching works in the range where you can still breathe evenly; past that, the muscle guards and you get less, not more.

Pick the day that matches what feels tight, or run them in order.