ON YOUR YOGA MAT

POWER UP

You might wonder what kind of benefits there are from doing away with the long, leisurely stretches that tend to sandwich a standard yoga practice. But yoga practitioner Laura Pearce says shorter sessions can allow you “to explore more dynamic yoga styles that get the heart rate up”. Focus on variations, such as Rocket and Vinyasa: these modern disciplines of yoga are popular for their strength-based movements and fast pace, respectively. She says you can adjust the flow, speed and intensity to fit your own ability, mood and time constraints.

MAXIMISE YOUR MINUTES

According to the work of renowned researchers, including professor of psychology Dr Amishi Jha, 12 minutes can do the trick for meditative practices such as yoga “if relaxation and stress busting is the goal”, says Laura. But, she continues, “If your shorter yoga routine is all you’re doing for your body, it’ll need to be a little more high intensity.” If you’re looking to improve physical health and vitality, she suggests aiming for 20 minutes of a dynamic yoga practice. Laura adds that the most important thing is consistency: “If you can practise every other day, even for a quick flow, you’ll see tangible improvement and benefits within the first few weeks.”

PRIORITISE THIS

Laura suggests integrating a sun salutation into any short routine. “It’s basically a full-body warm-up that’s worked through at the beginning of a class in most dynamic yoga practices.” This position employs different movements, including backbends, lunges and press-ups, to “get the whole body moving, to wake up and heat up and, as they’re easy to memorise, you don’t have to worry about what movement to do next,” she says. “It can be strong, quick and powerful, but can also be practised in a gentle, calming, almost hypnotic way.” For a beginner-friendly sun salutation tutorial, search YouTube for Yoga With Adriene’s 10-minute Sun Salutation practice.