I’m pretty busy these days with my new job. It’s very different than my last job and I have to spend time on things I never thought about much before. For example, I have to spend a lot of time picking out my clothes—and then I have to iron them. That takes a lot of time! I also have to put on make up and fix my hair. (I know it sounds ridiculous, but at my old job it was perfectly acceptable to wear yoga pants for most of the day.. I just didn’t factor in all of the things that normal people have to think about.) And now that yoga’s not built into my lunch breaks, and my work day is more like 10 hours than 8, I have to make do with a lot shorter practice sessions. Lately, that means unrolling my mat to practice 5 poses at a time right before I have to scurry off to do something else.

So, here is my list of 5 poses to do when there just isn’t enough time in the day…

1. Anjaneyasana (Crescent Moon Pose) When I’m busy and stressed, it’s my quads and those muscles above then (are those a hip flexor?) that screams.. this pose always feels great!

2. Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (One-Legged King Pigeon Pose) Forward Fold Variation Hips. Need I say more?

3. Down Dog to Plank to Down Dog to Plank I know this is technically two poses, but flowing between the two works my core, stretches my hamstrings, and strengthens my arms and shoulders all at the same time.

4. Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand) This is just s fun pose that makes me feel strong and feel free. And it always makes me happy, so I do it as much as possible.

5. Urdha Dhanurasana (Upward-Facing Bow Pose) I practice this pose last because I need to move on to my next task feeling invigorated and ready to tackle the next challenge.

If I have more than 10 minutes to practice I throw in a Savasana, too, but lately that hasn’t been happening… It’s a hard life.

What poses do you practice when you’re really too busy to practice?