The Restore and Unwind Week
Five low-effort practices — yin, restorative, gentle evening flows and breathwork — for a recovery week or a genuinely stressful stretch of life.
- GOAL
- Longevity & Balance
- LEVEL
- Beginner
- LENGTH
- 1 week
- SESSIONS
- 5 per week
A week with nothing demanding in it, built for recovery rather than progress. This is the block to run alongside a hard training phase, through a stressful patch, or any time the nervous system needs turning down rather than up. Yin sessions take the hips and spine into long passive holds; the restorative day is fully propped and asks nothing; the evening flows and breathwork lengthen the exhale and leave it there. Nothing here raises the heart rate or needs flexibility to begin. The aim is to finish each session more settled than you started — if a session leaves you activated rather than calm, it was done too hard. Warm room, dim light, and no rush.
- →Anyone in a stressful stretch who wants movement without intensity
- →Recovering between hard training blocks
- →New to yoga and wanting the gentlest possible entry
- →Sleeping badly and looking for an evening practice
- →Can get down to the floor and back up unassisted, or is willing to work supported
- →Has a mat and, ideally, a bolster and a couple of blankets
- →Willing to hold positions for several minutes without fidgeting for more
Down-regulate the nervous system with long passive holds, fully supported shapes and breathwork, finishing every session more settled than it began.
- MondayYin: Spine and ShouldersLong supported holds for the upper body. Stillness is the technique.
- TuesdayEvening Breath PracticeFifteen minutes, seated or lying down. Let the exhale run twice the inhale.
- WednesdayYin: Hips and Lower BodyTwo to four minute holds. Use every prop in the house.
- ThursdayRest, or a slow 20 min walk outdoors
- FridayRestorative PracticeFully propped, nothing active. Gather every prop before you start so you never get up.
- SaturdayEvening Wind-DownFloor-based and easy, finishing in a long rest.
- SundayRest
PROGRESSIONStay at about seventy percent of any stretch and be still. If you are adjusting every few breaths, the position was too deep — back off and settle.
- →There is no load to progress here. Success is consistency and a calmer finish, not deeper positions.
- →If a session leaves you activated rather than settled, it was done too hard — hold less deeply next time, not more.
- →Keep the holds long. The release in yin and restorative work only begins after the first minute or two, so cutting a hold short skips the point of it.
- →Sharp or nerve-like sensation means come out and skip that shape for the session. Passive holds are never forced.
- →Run this week as often as needed — unlike a training block, there is no cost to repeating it.
- →Resting heart rate on waking, averaged across the week
- →Subjective sleep quality, noted each morning on a simple scale
- →How settled you feel at the end of each session versus the start