Evening yoga: a 20-minute routine to release the workday

Why practise in the evening

• Your body is warmerBody temperature peaks in the late afternoon and early evening, and muscles usually feel looser than at dawn. Stretches that feel impossible at 6 am often feel easier at 6 pm.
• It separates work from homeA short practice after work acts as a full stop on the day, so you arrive at dinner calmer.
• It undoes the day's postureHours of sitting tighten the hips and round the shoulders. Evening is a natural time to reverse that.
• It suits non-morning peopleIf early starts are not realistic, the evening is just as good a home for a habit.

Fitting it around dinner

Yoga is uncomfortable on a full stomach. In most Indian homes, where dinner is at 8 or 9 pm, the easiest slot is soon after you get home, before dinner.

If you are very hungry after work, a small snack such as a banana, a handful of nuts or buttermilk an hour before practice is fine.

The 20-minute evening routine

It moves from releasing tension, to a little strength, to slowing down.

1. Arrive (2 minutes)Sit cross-legged or in Vajrasana. Drop the shoulders and take 10 slow breaths with a longer out-breath.
2. Neck and shoulders (2 minutes)Side neck stretches, shoulder rolls, and eagle arms or a strap behind the back.
3. Cat-Cow and thread the needle (2 minutes)On hands and knees, then slide one arm under the other for an upper-back twist.
4. Low lunge (2 minutes)One knee down, hips forward, to open the front of the hip tightened by sitting. Each side.
5. Warrior II and triangle (3 minutes)A little strength to use up restless energy. Each side.
6. Seated forward bend (2 minutes)Knees bent, chest towards the thighs.
7. Butterfly and reclined twist (3 minutes)Release the hips and lower back.
8. Legs up the wall (2 minutes)Rests the legs after a day on your feet. Skip if you have glaucoma.
9. Shavasana (2 minutes)Lie still and let the breath settle.

A 7-minute version

1. 1 minute: slow breathingIn for 4, out for 6.
2. 2 minutes: Cat-Cow and thread the needle
3. 2 minutes: low lunge, each side
4. 2 minutes: reclined twist, then rest

What to avoid late in the evening

• Fast, vigorous flows close to bedtime. Power yoga and many rounds of Surya Namaskar can leave some people too alert to sleep. Do them before 7 or 8 pm, or in the morning.
• Kapalbhati and Bhastrika at night. They are energising. Choose Anulom Vilom or Bhramari instead.
• Bright screens straight after. They undo the calm. Keep lights low after practice if you can.
• Overstretching because you feel flexible. Warm muscles stretch further, which makes it easier to push too far. Stay at a comfortable edge.

Evening yoga for different routines

• Office workers: focus on the hips, chest and upper back. Add desk breaks in the day from yoga for office workers.
• People on their feet all day: shopkeepers, teachers and nurses benefit most from legs up the wall and gentle forward bends.
• Parents: practise after the children sleep, but keep it gentle and short if it is late.
• Shift workers: treat your "evening" as the hour before your main sleep, whenever that falls.

Evening yoga: common questions