Summer always seems a little less stressful—there’s frosé, beach time, and lots of vacations to plan and enjoy. Then BAM, Labor Day weekend hits and fall is all of a sudden back in full swing (even though, technically it’s still summer).
If you’re anything like me, your stress levels magically skyrocket this time of the year. Yes, it’s nice to get back on a schedule, but the hustle is real once fall comes around, and with it, my schedule seems more jam-packed than ever. Enter one of the best ways to de-stress and unwind: yoga.
To help us stay sane throughout all the craziness, Chloe Kernaghan and Krissy Jones, instructors at Sky Ting Yoga in New York City, created a 10-minute stress-relieving yoga workout.
“The workout we designed is full of forward folds and inversions, which calm the nervous system and reduce stress,” Jones tells SELF. By flipping yourself upside-down, you’re bringing fresh blood and oxygen to the brain, she adds, which research suggests may have numerous benefits, including helping you think more clearly, be more alert, and improve memory and focus. Yogis also say that inversions can shift your perspective (you’re literally looking at life from a different angle), and since they take a lot of focus, force you to be present and stop worrying about your to-do list or any deadlines creeping up. And, of course, research points toward yoga in general as an effective method for managing stress and reducing anxiety.
Ready to chill out? Grab a mat and a block (if you have one) and get ready to feel Zen after just 10 minutes. You’ll hold the following six moves for a set number of breaths as opposed to reps, which makes it easy to make the workout longer or shorter, depending on what you need on a given day.