Feeling a bit blah? This 15-minute energising yoga flow workout from instructor Norie Jones is the perfect way to kickstart your day…
Feeling energised might not be just about getting more sleep – an energising yoga flow workout could be just what the doctor ordered. Exercise also boosts oxygen flow around your body, supporting the energy production of your powerhouse cells, the mitochondria, and making a real difference to your energy levels.
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Yoga, in particular, has been found to have an invigorating effect on the mind and body that could reduce fatigue – just a few minutes of yoga every day is one of the best things you can do to energise the body and focus the mind. From improved strength, posture and flexibility, to alleviating stress, tiredness and tension, yoga is one of those disciplines known for countless health benefits.
Related: What is yoga? Benefits & basic principles for beginners
Want to feel less tired and more energised right now? Here, yoga expert and MoreYoga instructor, Norie Jones, talks us through a simple 15-minute yoga flow, designed to energise from top to toe.
How to do this 15-minute energising yoga flow:
Jones recommends running through the following series of moves, twice. You’ll start with cat/cow and cobra to locust, then perform two sequences of the following three moves (one on each side) before finishing with boat pose crunches. This creates a full-body flow that will open your heart and focus your mind for the day ahead.
15-minute energising yoga flow workout
- Cat/Cow on forearms
- Cobra to locust pose
- Downward dog hip circles
- Warrior III with crunch
- Low lunge to twist
- Boat pose crunches
Below, we’ve included detailed instructions and handy photo demonstrations to help you perfect each pose in this energising yoga workout…
1) Cat/Cow (forearms variation)
The cat/cow pose is a classic yoga posture used to warm up the spine. It increases flexibility in the neck, shoulders and whole spine. The movement also stretches the muscles of the hips, back, abdomen, chest and lungs. Cat stretch held at its peak releases tension in the upper back and neck.
- Start on all-fours, then move your forearms down onto the mat. Place your shoulders directly over your elbows, palms facing down (A).
- Inhale and drop your belly down while lifting your chest and head up (cow position, B).
- Exhale, then round your upper back – chin towards chest and pressing your forearms down on the mat (cat position, C). Continue alternating between these two poses five times.
2) Cobra to locust
Cobra is a heart-opening backbend that stretches your entire upper body and can provide relief if you’re experiencing back pain, tightness in your shoulders or upper body soreness. Locust pose preps you for deeper backbends by strengthening the back of your torso, legs, and arms.
- From cat/cow, move into a cobra position. Lie prone with hands either side of your chest, hugging elbows close to the body. Press your hands down, then lift your head and chest. Keep looking forward (A).
- Press your hips down, squeeze your glutes, keep the tops of feet on the mat and have your legs together or apart. Make sure there’s no pinching in the lower back.
- From here, move into locust by lifting your hands off the mat but keeping your elbows hugged in, then lifting your feet off the mat (together or apart) and pointing your toes (B).
- Hold the locust pose for 10 seconds. When in locust, there’s the option to extend your hands behind, with fingers interlaced, and lift your fists away from your body (C) to help raise the chest higher.
3) Downward dog hip circles
This is one of yoga’s most recognised poses. It strengthens the core, improves circulation, stretches the hamstrings and calves, and strengthens the arms and legs. As a gentle inversion, it also increase bloodflow to your brain.
- To get into downward dog from locust pose, come up to a table top position with your wrists underneath your shoulders and your knees underneath your hips.
- Tuck your toes under and push back through your hands to lift your hips and straighten your legs (if your hamstrings are tight, keep knees bent). Hands are shoulder-width distance apart and your feet hip-width apart.
- Spread your fingers wide and ground down from your forearms through your fingertips. Rotate your thighs inward, keep your hips high and shift your weight towards your heels (A).
- Lift your right leg up behind you, with a bent knee, then open your hip to the side, keeping your shoulders square to the ground. Point your toes towards your left glute. Now, make circular movements with the right knee (B), five times in a clockwise and then five times in an anti-clockwise direction.
4) Warrior III with crunch
Warrior III pose is a standing posture that’s centred around focus and balance. It will strengthen your legs, ankles and core.
- From downward dog, lift and extend your left leg behind you. Look forward and step the left foot between your hands.
- Shift your weight onto your left foot and lift your right leg behind you. Extend your arms forward and straighten the left leg (A).
- From warrior III with arms extended forward, make fists with your hands and draw your elbows in towards your body, while taking your right leg to your chest and rounding your upper back (B), then return to warrior III.
- Repeat five times.
5) Low lunge to twist
Low lunge increases flexibility in the hips. Twisting from low lunge applies pressure to your internal organs, increasing their ability to detoxify your body. After twisting, your torso and digestive organs are flushed with oxygen-rich blood, which helps remove toxins while improving digestion. This pose stretches and tones the legs, hips and glutes.
- From Warrior III, step forward into lunge and lower left knee to the floor, sliding the foot back until you feel a stretch in left hip flexor.
- Keep the hips low and level with each other, engage your lower belly and lift your chest away from the thigh, sweeping your arms up alongside your ears (A).
- Release left hand to the ground and lift right arm up. Gaze up to your right hand, then hold the pose for 10 seconds.
- Release your hands either side of your right foot and step back to downward dog. Repeat poses 3 to 5 on the left-hand side.
6) Boat pose crunches (high boat to low boat)
- Finishing with this sequence will help to strengthen both your upper and lower abdominals, plus help train your core stability to strengthen and protect your lower back.
- After performing the twisting lunge on the left-hand side, release your hands either side of the left foot and step back to downward dog. Lift the heels high, bend your knees, look forward, step forward and sit down.
- Next, lift both feet off the ground and extend your arms to either side (high boat; A), then lower halfway (low boat; B). Repeat 3 times.
- On the last low boat pose, slowly release all the way to the ground and lie down. Feel free to add any other movements, like hugging your knees to your chest and twisting on both sides, before resting in savasana.
Meet your trainer: Norie Jones is a 55-year-old yoga instructor based in West London. She started her yoga practice nearly a decade ago and found it completely changed her life. Follow her journey via norieyoga.co.uk and @noriejonesyoga
