A Beginner's Guide to Yoga for Boosting Energy and Vitality

Feeling tired, unmotivated, and having trouble sleeping? These are just some of the symptoms of low or decreased energy levels. Experiencing a deficiency in energy can also cause difficulty focusing or concentrating, digestive issues, muscle weakness, mood swings, and slow your ability to heal from an injury.

Low energy can also be a cyclical beast — physical movement is the best way to lift your energy levels but if you feel too tired and you’re having trouble motivating, exercise might be the last thing you want to do. This is how energy deficiencies worsen and it’s important to break the cycle in order to feel like yourself again.

How Yoga Gives You More Energy

If you’re not in the mood for an energizing workout, yoga can help lift your spirits and get you moving again without the need for strenuous activity. Increasing energy with yoga is an excellent way to boost your overall wellness and vitality, since it offers a holistic approach that invigorates your entire being. When we practice yoga, we are not only moving our bodies, but we are also nourishing our mind and spirit.

Yoga asanas (postures) work to stimulate and stretch your muscles, improve circulation to your organs, and increase the flow of oxygen throughout your body. This physical movement helps to release any physical tension that might be causing fatigue, leaving you feeling energized and rejuvenated.

Yoga also incorporates mindfulness and self-awareness which can help to reduce stress and anxiety. When we are in a state of heightened anxiety our energy levels are often depleted, and yoga can help increase the release of endorphins in your body, which can result in feelings of calmness and wellbeing — leading to a natural increase in energy.

If low energy is causing you to have trouble sleeping, a regular yoga practice can also help. By balancing your hormones and stress levels, yoga releases the kind of pent-up tension and anxiety that can ruin a good night’s sleep.

Overall, increasing energy with yoga is a great way to enhance your physical and mental wellbeing. It helps to reduce stress levels, improve sleep quality, and increase physical energy, leaving you feeling healthy, balanced, and revitalized. Yoga achieves this through enhancing muscle strength, endurance, and flexibility, which can result in a decrease in fatigue. Yoga can also improve the health of your cardiovascular system, which improves the way oxygen and nutrients move throughout your body, which can also increase energy levels.

And performing yoga poses isn’t the only way to lift your energy levels. Yogic breathing (pranayama) techniques can also help by reducing stress and improving mental clarity. Pranayama can actually help to quickly calm your nervous system, which can increase your oxygen supply and improve your overall vitality.

Yoga Poses for Increased Energy

Are you ready to lift your mind, body, and spirit with yoga? Try the poses below to revitalize your energy levels and provide a boost to your mood and overall well-being. If you’re unsure about the alignment for these poses, or if you’d like some professional guidance, try taking an online course at MyYogaTeacher or booking a private session with a certified yoga instructor.

1. Sun Salutations Pose

This sequence is the keystone of any regular yoga practice, and there is a reason it is often practiced in the morning. The Sun Salutation sequence is specifically designed to get blood and oxygen moving throughout your body, and kickstart your energy levels for the day. 

Start at the top of your mat in Mountain pose, with your hands in prayer position. With flowing, dynamic movement, progress through the following postures 3 or more times:

• Upward Salute

• Standing Half-Forward Bend

• Standing Forward Fold

• Low Lunge (left foot forward)

• Plank

• Four-Limbed Staff pose

• Upward Facing Dog or Cobra

• Downward Facing Dog

• Low Lunge (right foot forward)

• Standing Half-Forward Bend

• Standing Forward Fold

• Upward Salute

• Return to Mountain pose

• Repeat

2. Warrior II Pose

This pose requires a strong, grounded stance, and through improving your circulation and respiration it will increase energy throughout your body.

From a standing position, step your right foot forward on the mat with your toes pointed forward and your right knee bent. Your left foot will stay behind you, perpendicular to the mat. Keep your hips squared and arms stretched over your front and rear legs, distributing your weight evenly between both legs. Stay in this pose for 5-6 breaths.

3. Chair Pose

This is another strengthening pose that builds on the heat and focus of your Sun Salutations and Warrior II practice.

Stand in the center of your mat in Mountain pose. Inhale deep and raise your arms over your head slowly with each breath you take. With your legs about hip distance apart, exhale as you bend your knees as if you are sitting down onto a chair. Keep your spine straight and your core engaged, while maintaining a forward-facing gaze. Hold for 5-10 breaths.

4. Tree Pose

This simple, balancing posture can do wonders for your energy levels. Tree pose engages the muscles in your core, back, legs, and pelvic bowl, and channels the flow of prana throughout your body.

Stand in Mountain pose with your feet hip distance apart. Keep your arms relaxed at your sides while you focus on an easy, steady breath. Transfer your body weight to your left foot, while softly bending your right knee, pulling it into your chest. Place the sole of your right foot on the inside of your left thigh. Keep your spine and head straight, with your gaze forward. Once you’ve steadied your balance, bring your hands together in Namaste formation. Hold for 5-6 deep breaths.

5. Bridge Pose

If you’re feeling fatigued, Bridge pose might be the energetic lift you need. By releasing stress in your back, neck and shoulders, and strengthening your legs, this pose can improve your energy levels and help you destress at the same time.

Start by lying on your back with your knees bent. On your next exhale, tuck your chin and lift your hips, being careful not to allow your knees to splay outward. Interlace your fingers on the floor underneath you and lift your hips higher, while staying in the pose for 5-10 breaths.

Pranayama for Energy

Try one of these simple breathing techniques to feel renewed, revitalized, and refreshed.

1. Bhastrika or “Bellows Breath”

Sit in Easy pose and gently inhale through your nose. When you exhale, force it out through your belly. Do this vigorously for 10 breaths. Once you’ve finished, take a long inhale, hold the breath, and then slowly exhale.

2. Surya Bhedana or Solar Breath

Sit comfortably in Easy pose, and use the ring finger on your right hand to close your left nostril. Breathe in and out through your right nostril only about 10-20 times. When you are finished, remove your hand and allow yourself to breath normally through both nostrils.