REMEMBER: Don't worry so much about making your body shapes exactly like the pictures. Every body is different! The goal is to find the intention for the stretch in each pose and breath into that place. If you find that a pose bothers an injury, make adjustments to the posture to suit your body's needs.

1. Crescent Lunge with a Quad Stretch
Legs wide, hip facing one leg, lunge into front knee, keep back leg straight or lower knee to the earth to stretch the front of the back leg hip. You can also reach around and hold the back foot (with the back knee dropped). 10 breaths each side

2. Side Facing Wide Leg Forward Bend
Feet at least 3 feet apart, fold forward to bring your hands down to a block or to the earth, bend knees slightly to protect lower back, relax your neck. 15 breaths.

3. Bridge
Laying on your back with your knees bent, push the feet down to lift your hips up. Clasp hands behind back. 5 breaths, repeat 3 times.

4. Half pigeon
One knee bent by your wrist, other leg stretching out behind you, body laying over your bent knee. 10 breaths each side.

OR

Seated Pigeon
Cross one ankle on opposite bent knee. Bring hands to the earth behind you and lengthen your spine, tilt your pelvis to vertical. 10 breaths each side.

5. Supine Twist
Laying on your back, bring one or both knees bent into your chest, arms making a capitol-T out to each side, take breath in, as you exhale take your knee/s across your body towards the floor, keep opposite shoulder on the floor. 10 breaths each side.

About the Author: Brittany Hopkins is owner of the power vinyasa yoga community Container Collective Yoga.

As a certified yoga instructor that has been teaching movement since 1998, she creates space for students to feel comfortable and confident to stretch and move beyond their imagination, on and off their yoga mats. With a background as a professional dancer and dance instructor in Chicago, IL; Central Utah; Denver, CO; and internationally inBeijing, China, her yoga classes are fun, fluid, and challenging, and inspire students to embody a sense of ease and unconditional love that impact their lives outside of the studio.