5 Easy Yin Yoga poses for Adrenal Fatigue

“I know you’re tired but come, this is the way…’ Rumi

If you feel overwhelmed or tired, it could be because of adrenal fatigue. This condition is caused by the adrenal glands being overworked. When this happens, the body is thrown off balance, which can lead to a whole host of other problems. In this blog post, we’ll review 5 easy yin yoga poses that can help relieve your stress and balance hormones, which can go a long way towards relieving symptoms of adrenal fatigue.

As women, we wear many hats.

Mother, wife, friend, daughter, sister, house wife, employee + many more. We like to think we can do it all. But sometimes we get tired, sometimes we need help. When we are always on the go and living from our masculine shell rather than operating through our core feminine energy, we run the risk of burnout. On top of that, add all of the current World events, and we’re completely running on empty.

When we give away more energy than what we have in our stores, we deplete ourselves. When we prioritise space for ourselves, we renew our energy stores once again and can be who we need to be for our loved ones.

What are some common Adrenal Fatigue symptoms?

Tired
Run down
Craving sugar and caffeine
Difficulty sleeping

How does Yin Yoga help for Adrenal Fatigue?

Yin Yoga is just one of the many tools we can reach for from our toolbox to help give back to ourselves and restore our energy – both physically and energetically. Yin Yoga supports the flow of energy within the body. Improved energy flow is interconnected with so much of the body, and can improve organ health, immunity and emotional wellbeing.

When energy becomes stuck due to stress, tension and trauma, the pause through Yin Yoga shapes help to release stagnant energy and assist the body in running optimally again. The practice helps our Nervous System return to homeostasis, essentially healing from living in prolonged periods of the stress response which leaves us feeling drained, on edge and not ourselves.

What Yin Yoga poses are good to help with Adrenal Fatigue?

If you are feeling fatigued, depleted or in need of giving energy back to yourself, try these Yin Yoga poses below. You could try just one, or follow along with the sequence at the end.

Yin Yoga poses for adrenal fatigue

1. Dragonfly

Dragonfly is a beautiful Yin pose to come back to your own energy, it’s like a giant hug to yourself. A great shape to begin with, before moving into more open and dynamic shapes.

Physical Benefits of Dragonfly

Hip opener + opens through the groin and hamstrings
Lengthens the back body
Stimulates the ovaries

Energetic Benefits of Dragonfly

Grounding in nature as it is a shape that connects to the Root Chakra as the tailbone is connected to Earth space
Returning home to our own energy as we fold into ourselves. This helps us let go of any other energy and tension we have picked up from others around us
Stimulates Liver, Spleen, Kidney and Urinary Bladder meridians

Coming into Dragonfly

Find a comfortable seated position, either on the floor or propped up on a cushion, block or folded blanket.
With your legs outstretched, bring your legs out wide. Your legs may be open slightly, open wider than your hips or somewhere in between.
Fold forward to a point where you can feel sensation but aren’t using all of your muscles to force you to hold that position.
Build the ground up to meet you with props. You can support your body with cushions, bolsters, blocks and blankets.
If having both legs out wide feels too intense, feel free to come into half Dragonfly with one leg out wide and the other foot in towards the inside of the thigh. Come out and swap legs half way through the hold.

Coming out of Dragonfly

Use your hands to push the floor away from you and slowly roll your spine back to an upright position.
Use your hands to bend your knees and bring your legs back to centre.
Softly remove any props you were using out to the side.

2. Child’s Pose

Like Dragonfly, Child’s Pose is a beautiful shape to come in to when we want to come back to our own energy. A shape to use when we want to feel safe and held when the World feels like it’s a little too much in that moment.

Physical Benefits of Child’s Pose

Gentle stretch for the spine
Gentle compression of stomach and chest which aids digestive organs
Gentle stretch through the hips if you take a wide knee child’s pose

Energetic Benefits of Child’s Pose

Connect to our inner child (a pose of innocence) which allows us to give nourishment and nurturing back to ourselves
A deeply healing and restful shape for when we need to pause from the busyness of life
Psychologically soothing and can help reduce feelings of anxiety, stress and overwhelm.
Because the vital organs are protected and shielded in this position, it allows the body to find deep rest and recover from the effects of living in the stress response (fight or flight).

Coming in to Child’s Pose

From tabletop position, take your knees out slightly wider than the hips (or wherever feels comfortable for you before that) and let your toes stay touching with heels apart.
Sink your buttocks back to sit onto or towards your heels.
Stretch your arms out in front and let your forehead find the floor, or stack your forearms on top of each other and rest your forehead on the top arm.

Coming out of Child’s Pose

Use your hands to push into the ground and softly move away from the ground back to table top.
Walk the hands back in and bring your knees back into centre if they are out wide.
Come back to sit on to the heels and take a few breaths before moving in to your next position.

3. Sleeping Swan

Sleeping Swan is the equivalent to Pigeon Pose in Yin Yoga. Sleeping Swan is a beautiful hip opening pose that invites us to let go of control and to surrender our weight into our support. It is a great opportunity for learning discipline as it can be a shape that can elicit strong sensation and it teaches us to learn to dance between sitting with discomfort and backing away when we take on too much.

Physical Benefits of Sleeping Swan

Hip opener
Stretches the quadriceps & glutes
Gentle stretch for the spine
External rotation of front hip

Energetic Benefits of Sleeping Swan

Grounding
Soothing
Assists in finding surrender and letting go of control
Releases stagnant emotions from the Hip space
Connection to the Sacral Chakra & boosts creativity, joy & enthusiasm
Connection to the Solar Plexus Chakra & helps reconnect to our power and expressiveness

Coming in to Sleeping Swan

Bring yourself either to table top position or Downward Facing Dog
Starting on the right side, bring your right knee forward and rest your right knee on to the ground behind your right wrist. Your shin can rest on to the ground on an angle, or parallel to the top of your mat (whatever option feels right and accessible for you)
Slide your left leg out behind you and untuck your toes
Option to remain upright on your palms, or the invitation to fold your torso down on to a bolster or fold towards the floor while resting on your elbows and forearms

Coming out of Sleeping Swan

Press your hands and forearms into the ground and slowly bring yourself away from the ground/your bolster
Tuck the left toes so you can bring the right knee back to table top, followed by the left leg as well

Remember to do both sides. If there is any pain in your knees or the shape doesn’t feel right for you, feel free to come over on to the back and settle into a reclined figure 4 position instead.

4. Reclined Butterfly

Reclined Butterfly is definitely a crowd favourite! A beautiful heart and hip opener that allows us to completely surrender at the same time.

Physical Benefits of Reclined Butterfly

Hip opener
Heart opener
Stimulates abdominal organs
Gentle stretch for the inner thighs, groin & knees
Gentle release for lower back

Energetic Benefits of Reclined Butterfly

Reduces stress
Calms the mind
Energising
Helps improve mood
Release blocked emotions

Coming into Reclined Butterfly

Laying down on your back with your feet on the floor, bring the soles of the feet together and let the knees fall out to the side
Option to recline onto a bolster to add more support for the back and deeper opening for the Heart Space, as well as the option to add blocks or cushions underneath the knees for additional support

Coming out of Reclined Butterfly

Place the hands underneath the knees or thighs to guide the legs back to centre
Release the legs out long in front of you

5. Supine Twist

Twists help promote Spine mobility and health. They help open the upper body, which we all need a little help with due to our current lifestyles of working long hours and spending lots of time slumped over phones and computers. They are also incredibly energising, so a great option when we are feeling depleted!

Physical Benefits of Reclined Twist

Nourishing spine rotation + releases tension from the spine
Decompresses the vertebrae
Stimulates digestion
Stimulates blood flow
Opens the chest, shoulder and upper back muscles (a great option if you work at a desk or spend lots of time on a computer)

Energetic Benefits of Reclined Twist

Creates balance & equilibrium in the body
Increases energy
Stimulates the Heart, Lung, Small Intestine and Large Intestine Meridian Lines
Detoxification

Coming in to Supine Twist

Lying on your back, draw both knees into your chest.
Open your arms to the side like wings and drop the knees over to one side
You can use a bolster or pillow in between your thighs or underneath the bottom leg for support

Coming out of Supine Twist

Bring your knees back to centre and release your knees over to the other side
After completing both sides, bring your knees back to centre and release your feet back to the floor

Yin Yoga for Adrenal Fatigue Sequence

Dragonfly
5 minutes or settle into half dragonfly for 3 minutes and then move over to the other side for another 3 minutes

After 5 minutes, slowly bring yourself out of the shape and lower down on to the back for 1 – 2 minutes

Childs Pose
5 minutes in Childs pose
After the hold, slowly make your way out and spend 1 – 2 minutes in a kneeling position or lay down on the belly for that time

Sleeping Swan
3 minutes on each side
In between sides and after the second side, take 1 – 2 minutes in either child’s pose, kneeling or laying on the belly

Reclined Butterfly
5 – 7 minutes
Release the legs out long and take 1 – 2 minutes there before moving to the other side

Supine Twist
3 minutes on each side
Option to come back to centre in between sides or you can move straight from the first side to the second side

Savasana
Find a position that is comfortable, restful and nourishing for you to let your body integrate the practice
Take 5 – 10 minutes in Savasana

As you can see, one of the best ways to prevent and heal from adrenal fatigue is to take a break from the stressors in your life. And that’s exactly what these five easy yin yoga poses can help you accomplish! Not only will they relieve stress and tension in your body, but they will also give you a chance to slow down and take a breath. So try these poses out, and let us know how they help your adrenal fatigue!