Yoga teacher and Reiki Master Cesca Dinardo says the secret to managing stress isn’t doing more – it’s doing less. Here, she shares a simple 5-minute yoga for stress relief to help you reset, recharge and restore calm at any point in your day

Words: Joanna Ebsworth | Images: Shutterstock & Cesca Dinardo

When life feels overwhelming, it’s easy to assume that finding calm requires a yoga class, a walk in nature or an hour of meditation. In reality, just a few minutes can be enough to regulate your nervous system and leave you feeling more grounded. The secret lies in choosing techniques that interrupt stress and help your body move into a more relaxed state.

This philosophy resonates with Cesca Dinardo, a yoga teacher specialising in hatha, ashtanga and vinyasa, who believes wellbeing doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming to be transformative. And she should know.

After years of perfectionist tendencies and the pressure of her first corporate role outside of university culminated in burnout, Cesca embarked on a life-changing recovery journey in 2019. While continuing to work in the corporate world, she retrained in a range of holistic disciplines, becoming a Reiki Master teacher, alignment guide and intuitive healer, before moving into wellness full-time in December 2025.

Now 29, Cesca’s approach is built on the idea that lasting change comes from small, sustainable actions rather than lengthy wellness routines. As the founder of align (the-align-method.com), an online wellness studio, she combines her personal experience with professional expertise to help people fit yoga, Pilates, breathwork and energy practices into even the busiest schedules.

5-minute yoga for stress relief

This mind, body and energy reset is ideal for anyone who’s been sitting, scrolling or going at pace all day:

Arrive and ground (1 min)

Sit comfortably with your hands on thighs, eyes closed. Feel the weight of your body. Take three natural breaths – no control yet, just noticing. Let your nervous system register that it’s safe to soften.

Box breathing (2 mins)

Inhale for four counts, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four. Equal breath, equal rhythm. This is your reset. The mind follows the breath when you give it something steady to hold onto.

Seated cat-cow (1 min)

Place your hands on your knees. Inhale as your chest opens and spine arches (A). Exhale as you round through your back, chin to chest (B). Move slowly. This gently decompresses your spine.

Neck Rolls (30 secs)

Drop one ear to your shoulder and do slow half-circles side to side. If you’ve been hunched over a screen today, this one’s for you. Let gravity melt the tension. You’re not stretching –you’re releasing.

Stillness and integration (30 secs)

Place one hand on your heart, one on your belly. Take one conscious breath. Ask yourself: what do I need right now? Let the answer come without forcing it.

I’m a yoga teacher – this is my go-to morning flow when I’m short on time

3 ways to find calm

The next time stress starts to build, think less about finding extra time and more about making the most of the five minutes you already have with these practices for different scenarios.

5 minutes to calm… at your desk

Get grounded by placing your hands on your knees. Become aware of your feet on the floor. Practise slow belly breathing to signal to your nervous system that it’s safe to soften. Release physical tension built up from sitting at your desk through some simple neck rolls and twists.

5 minutes to calm… after a workout

Box breathing helps to bring your heart rate down and shift you out of fight-or-flight into rest-and-digest, so the energy you’ve just generated settles rather than lingers as stress.

5 minutes to calm… before bed

High frequency music and journalling clear mental noise from the day, helping your mind unwind before sleep rather than carrying the day’s thoughts into the night. Do some brief breathwork before putting pen to paper and focus on what is working well in your life.