Join me on the mat for a delicious, total-body rinse and release, beginning with a warming Vinyasa yoga flow, and ending with a grounding, Yin-inspired stretch session. This workout is part of our Free 5-Day Workout Challenge, but can be done as a standalone workout. If you're here as part of the challenge: welcome to bonus Day 6 and way to go for prioritizing your active recovery! 

Now, let’s discuss the workout: 

This practice contains a warm-up, workout, and cool-down. The warm-up and workout take place in the first half of the practice, where we will warm and engage our muscles. The low-impact movements and posture holds will help us to increase not just muscular strength, but joint strength as well, and actively increase our mobility (range of motion pertaining to joints). If anything offered in this section of the practice feels inaccessible, please take the modification offered (while I do mention some modifications throughout the video, please read below to see more options) or skip the posture altogether. As always, everything I call is a suggestion; this practice is yours and I always encourage my students to get creative and honor their bodies with movements that feel good for them. 

After our water break, we will melt into our mats with some Yin-inspired stretches. This second half of the practice is considered Yin-inspired because — while you might find some of the stretches offered in this practice in a typical Yin class — we are not holding the postures for nearly as long. Furthermore, a Yin practice has longer holds of these poses so that the body can release with the help of gravity over time, and these longer periods of stillness allow the stretch to passively open joints and release tense fascia tissue. We will not be diving as deep as a true Yin class, however, these stretches can help release any tension in tight muscles, and help you to find an even deeper range of motion in your joints. As always, if you would like to hold any of these stretches for longer, or you would like to add on to your Yin-inspired practice, feel free to pause the video and make this practice your own. 

There are so many benefits to taking an active recovery day, including (but certainly not limited to) a decrease in lactic acid build-up/soreness, expedited muscle recovery/rebuilding, and improved circulation and waste removal. While this practice can serve as a form of active recovery, you can always come back to this flow any time you’re looking to move a little more gently — not just on your active recovery days :-) I hope this practice leaves you feeling more open and at-home in your body! 

If you enjoyed this 5-Day Challenge, check out the new 4-Week FB Strong Round 3 program, which follows the same theme of workouts. In the program, you'll find a unique Plus workout every single day (no repeats!).

Workout Notes + Benefits: 

• You can modify your spinal alignment (aka ‘Bird-dog’) by keeping both hands on the mat, and hugging low belly to spine as you expand and contract through the one lifted leg. 
• You can modify all planks, Vinyasas, and lunges by taking these movements from the knees. 
• Always work with your range of movement. There is no need to force your body into shapes or positions that cause pain or extreme discomfort. Even if you can’t Warrior 2 with your leg parallel to the mat, or sit all the way into your squat, go as low as your body will allow and work from there; I promise that you are still receiving the benefits of the poses and you are gently (and actively) increasing your range of motion. 
• Remain mindful of your upper-body posture. Work to keep the chest and gaze lifted in our active lunges and squats. As the body tires, it may be tempting to round the upper back, letting the chest collapse forward. Keeping the gaze lifted and the core tight can help you to keep the chest lifted.
• If the wrists ever pose an issue, you can take fists to the mat or bring blocks (firm, weighty books work as well) underneath the palms for added support. 
• If Crow is in your practice, feel free to take the arm balance through a Vinyasa when we’re transitioning from the Active Yogi Squat. You never need permission to ramp things up or get upside down ;-)
• Make sure to actively breathe with our movements and static posture holds. Actively breathing will not only help to warm your muscles, but it can help you release tension held in the muscles; clenching your jaw and/or holding the breath can actually increase the amount of tension being held in the body. Active breathing is especially important in the Yin-inspired section of our practice, as it is much easier to forget about the breath when we’re moving less, and the resistance you feel to the stretches makes you want to tighten up further. 
• Warming and engaging the muscles through low-impact, strength-building movements can help to increase circulation, aiding in muscle recovery. Furthermore, when we actively stretch our muscles before passively stretching them, we decrease our risk of injury to those muscles and increase our mobility. 

Equipment

• Yoga Mat (optional)

Flow Structure

Integration

• Reverse Plank Flow [x3]
  • Boat
  • Low Boat 
• Down-Dog Flow [x3]
  • Knee Tap 
  • High Plank
  • Optional Chaturangas [0-3]
• Walk Hands Back to Forward Fold
  • 3 Half Sun A’s

Warming 

• Table Top 
• Spinal Alignment [x3]
• Modified Side Plank
• Cheetah
• Wild Thing 

Exploration

• Runner’s Lunge
• Modified Pyramid
• Active Squat 
• Modified Crow
• Oscillating Cobra 
• Locust
• Vinyasa

Peak 

• One-Legged Mountain
• Half Moon
• Warrior 2 
• Active Skandasana [Modification: Archer’s Pose]
• Prasarita w/ Fold
• Twisted Lizard Lunge 
• Vinyasa

Water Break 

Re-Center

• Half Pigeon [Modification: Reclined Half Pigeon]
• Half Lord Of The Fishes
• Snail Pose 
• Puppy
• Sphinx/Seal

Release

• Shoulder Stretch 
• Half Frog [Option: Thread The Needle]
• Child’s Pose (as a transition onto back)
• Banana 
• Happy Baby or Plow [Advanced Option: Shoulder Stand or Yogi Choice Inversion]

Rest

• Your Savasana