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Inspired For Yoga exists for people who want to do yoga at home and have no idea where to begin. You do not need a class, a teacher, special clothes or any flexibility. You need a bit of floor, about ten minutes and a willingness to move slowly. This page covers what a session actually involves, how to judge your effort, how to breathe, and how to find your way around the rest of the site.

What a session looks like

A home session is a short sequence of poses done in a set order. You hold each pose for a few breaths or a set number of seconds, move to the next, and finish lying still for a minute or two. That is the whole format. Every routine on this site follows it, and each one has a follow-along timer so you never need to watch a clock.

Most sessions have three parts, even when they are only ten minutes long:

1. Warm up (1 to 3 minutes)

   Gentle, repeated movements that wake up the spine and hips, such as Cat-Cow on hands and knees or Knees to Chest on your back. Nothing here should feel like a stretch yet. You are just getting warm and noticing how your body feels today.

2. Main work (5 to 15 minutes)

   The poses that do the job of the routine: lunges and folds to loosen tight legs, Bridge Pose or Plank to build strength, twists for a stiff back. You hold these longer, usually 30 seconds to a minute, and do both sides where the pose has sides.

3. Settle down (1 to 3 minutes)

   Slower, lower poses and then rest, usually Child's Pose, a Supine Twist and Corpse Pose. Do not skip the last minute of stillness. It is when your breathing slows and your body registers what you just did.

You will not do sun salutations at speed, balance on your hands or tie yourself in knots. The poses on this site are the plain, reliable ones that work for ordinary bodies, and every one has an easier version in the Pose Guide.

How long and when

Start with 10 minutes, three or four days a week. That is enough to feel a difference in stiffness and mood within a couple of weeks, and short enough that you will actually do it. Once 10 minutes feels easy to fit in, add a second routine or move to 20 minutes. The 4-Week Plan builds this up for you.

The best time of day is the time you will keep. Each option has a small advantage:

• Morning: you are stiffer, so poses feel harder, but the session is done before the day can get in the way. Move more slowly for the first few minutes.
• Midday or between work blocks: a short break routine like the Desk Break Routine undoes some of the hunch from sitting. You can do it in work clothes.
• Evening: your body is warmer and moves more easily. Keep it slow and floor-based if you want it to help you sleep; the Bedtime Wind-Down is built for that.

Leave about two hours after a big meal, or an hour after a light one. Folding and twisting on a full stomach is uncomfortable. A glass of water beforehand is fine.

Space and setup

You need a clear rectangle about the size of a mat (roughly 6 feet by 2 feet, or 180 by 60 cm) with a little extra room to stretch your arms out to the sides. Check that you can reach your arms overhead without hitting a lamp or a shelf. A bedroom floor, a hallway or the space between the couch and the TV all work.

A mat helps because it stops your hands and feet from sliding, but for your first few sessions a rug or carpet will do. Grab a firm cushion or folded blanket to sit on and two thick books in case the floor feels far away in a fold. The gear page covers what is worth buying later and what you can skip.

Wear anything you can bend in without adjusting it every minute. Bare feet grip best. Put your phone face down or in another room, unless you are using it for the follow-along timer.

How hard to push

This is where most beginners go wrong. The useful work in a pose happens at a moderate stretch you can hold while breathing calmly, and pushing further tends to make muscles tighten up to protect themselves. Use this scale to check in during each pose:

Two quick checks work in any pose. First, can you breathe through your nose without effort? Second, are your face, jaw and shoulders soft? If either answer is no, ease off. You will often find that backing off slightly lets you stay longer and relax further into the stretch.

Breathing during poses

You do not need a special technique to begin. Breathe in and out through your nose, a little slower than usual, and keep it going. The one rule is: do not hold your breath. Beginners hold their breath in every effortful pose without noticing, which raises tension and makes the pose harder.

A few simple habits help:

• Move with the breath. In repeated movements like Cat-Cow, inhale as you open or lift and exhale as you fold, round or twist. Let the breath set the speed.
• Count breaths in holds. Five slow breaths is roughly 30 seconds. Counting gives your mind something to do and tells you when the hold is over.
• Use the exhale. Each time you breathe out in a stretch, let your shoulders drop and your body settle a few millimeters. Do not force anything on the inhale.
• Mouth breathing is a flag. If you need to breathe through your mouth, you are working above a 6 out of 10. That is fine in a strength pose for a few seconds, but in a stretch it means back off.

When you want more, Breathing Basics covers slower patterns with a built-in pacer, and Rest & Relaxation explains how to use the final rest well.

How to use this site

The site is organized around what you will do on the mat. Here is how the parts fit together:

• Routines are complete, timed sessions with a follow-along button. Pick one, press start, follow the cues. Each lists its length, level and the props it needs. Some are general (Morning, Bedtime, Stress Reset), others target a problem (Lower Back Relief, Neck & Shoulder Release, Tight Hips).
• The Pose Guide explains every pose used in the routines: how to set up, what you should feel, an easier version and when to be careful. Pose names in routines link straight to their entry, so look one up whenever a cue is unclear.
• Plans tell you which routine to do on which day. Your First Week is seven days of short sessions, and The 4-Week Plan builds you up to a steady practice.
• Help pages answer the practical questions: Props & Modifications for when a pose does not fit your body, Common Mistakes, Safe Practice and the FAQ.

What to do today

Do not wait for the perfect week or a new mat. A first session today, however short, is worth more than a plan for next Monday. Here is the whole thing:

1. Pick a routine

   Morning or afternoon: the 10-Minute Morning Routine. Evening: the Bedtime Wind-Down. Stiff from sitting all day: the Desk Break Routine.

2. Read the cues once

   Skim the routine before you start and open any pose you do not recognize in the Pose Guide. Two minutes of reading saves a lot of squinting at your screen mid-pose.

3. Press follow along and go

   Work at 4 to 6 out of 10. Breathe through your nose. If a pose feels wrong, switch to the easier version or rest in Child's Pose until the next one starts.

4. Notice one thing afterwards

   Before you get up, spend ten seconds noticing how your back, hips or breathing feel compared to before. That small check is what makes the next session easier to start.

Then come back tomorrow, or the day after, and follow Your First Week. That is the whole method: short sessions, moderate effort, steady breathing, repeated often.

Where to go next