Yoga: 5 Must-do Yoga Poses to Unwind After a Long Flight

Taking a long flight or road trip can be tough on your body. Blood flow decreases, your muscles tense up, and somehow you’ve managed to become tired and tense at the same time … not the greatest feeling in the world. For these reasons, your body may be signaling a strong urge for a good, deep stretch; give in! If you’ve been traveling, you’re probably a bit exhausted, to say the least. The thought of getting down with a solid hour of yoga or a heart-pumping run may not be the most appealing idea. Completely understandable.

In this post, I’ve listed my top 5 favorite yoga poses to do after a long trip. It’ll only take you a few minutes and is perfect whether you need to energize for the day’s adventure or relax before bedtime. I recommend doing this in a flow sequence as described below but feel free to just focus on the five main bolded poses. Do what works for you!

***I also often do these poses before bed or in the morning if I don’t have time for a full workout.

Begin the sequence with a big, deep breath. Lift your arms up toward the sky and come down into a…

FORWARD BEND

Hold for 3 deep breaths.
Jump back into…

DOWNWARD FACING DOG

Hold for 3 deep breaths and really stretch it out.
Shift down into chaturanga and pull yourself up into…

UPWARD DOG

Hold for 3 deep breaths.
From upward dog go into child’s pose and then lay on your back. Put your hands by your ears and pull yourself up into a …

BACK BEND

Hold for 5 deep breaths.

If a back bend is too much for you, no worries at all. Bridge pose will do just fine. Keep working on it and you’ll get it. It took me over a year of practice to be able to pull myself up into a proper back bend.

Carefully bring yourself down into reclining bound angle pose AKA “goddess pose”, to allow your back to rest for a few breaths. Once relaxed, pull your legs up into…

LEGS - UP - THE - WALL

Stay here as long as you want to allow the blood flow to work in reverse. This is an amazing restorative pose. I like to go all the way into shoulder stand but to really relax, find a wall and just throw your legs up there. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and voila! You will feel like a new person ready to take on the day… OR to fall into a deep sleep and recover from the inevitable jet lag.

Happy travels!