• 31 brain breaks
  • Checked October 2026

Brain Break Yoga

One yoga pose by its usual name, with how to get into it and how long to hold it.

Brain Break Yoga

Show all 31
  1. Mountain pose30 seconds. Stand with your feet together and your hands by your sides. Press both feet evenly into the floor and grow tall through the top of your head. Stand as still as a mountain for 10 slow counts. Many standing poses start from this one.

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All 31 brain breaks

Standing poses 11

  • Chair pose 30 seconds. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees and send your hips back as if sitting down on a chair that is not there, and reach both arms up beside your ears. Hold for 5 counts and stand up. Three times.
  • Extended side angle pose 1 minute. Stand with your feet wide apart and your arms stretched out sideways. Turn one foot out and bend that knee to a square corner. Put that hand on the floor by your foot, or rest the forearm on your thigh, and reach the other arm past your ear. Hold for 5 counts and change sides.
  • Garland pose 30 seconds. Stand with your feet a little apart. Squat all the way down, with your heels on the floor if they will stay there, and press your palms together in front of your chest. Stay down for 10 counts. Stand up slowly.
  • Intense side stretch pose 1 minute. Stand with one foot a long step in front of the other, both legs straight and both feet flat. Put your hands on your hips and turn your hips to face the front foot. Fold forward over the front leg, hold for 5 counts and come up slowly. Change legs.
  • Mountain pose 30 seconds. Stand with your feet together and your hands by your sides. Press both feet evenly into the floor and grow tall through the top of your head. Stand as still as a mountain for 10 slow counts. Many standing poses start from this one.
  • Standing forward bend 30 seconds. Stand in Mountain pose. Fold forward from your hips and reach your hands toward the floor, with your knees a little bent if that is easier. Hang there for 5 counts. Roll up slowly.
  • Sun salutation, the first four shapes 2 minutes. A sun salutation is a chain of about twelve poses done one after another. Do the start of one: Mountain pose, arms stretched straight up, a standing forward bend, then the same bend with your head lifted. Go back through the same shapes to Mountain pose. Three rounds, moving slowly.
  • Triangle pose 1 minute. Stand with your feet wide apart and both legs straight, one foot turned out to the side. Stretch your arms out level and reach sideways over the turned-out foot. Lower that hand to your shin and point the other arm straight up. Hold for 5 counts, come up and do the other side.
  • Warrior one 1 minute. Take a big step forward with one foot and turn your back foot halfway in. Bend your front knee, keep your back leg straight and turn your hips to face the front foot. Reach both arms straight up. Hold for 5 counts, step back and change legs.
  • Warrior two 1 minute. Stand with your feet wide apart. Turn one foot out to the side and bend that knee, keeping the other leg straight. Stretch both arms out level with your shoulders, palms down, and look over your front hand. Hold for 5 counts and change sides.
  • Wide stance forward bend 1 minute. Stand with your feet wide apart and your toes pointing forward. Fold forward from your hips and put your hands on the floor, or on your shins if the floor is far away. Let your head hang for 5 counts. Come up slowly with your hands on your hips.

Balances 4

  • Dancer pose 1 minute. Stand tall beside your chair, in case you wobble. Bend one knee and take hold of that foot behind you with the hand on the same side. Lift the foot back and up, and stretch your other arm forward. Hold for 5 counts and change sides.
  • Eagle pose 1 minute. Stand with your knees bent. Cross your right leg over your left, then cross your left arm over your right in front of you and press your palms together. Fix your eyes on one spot and hold for 5 counts. Unwind and cross the other way; the arms alone are enough if your legs wobble.
  • Tree pose 1 minute. Stand in Mountain pose near your desk. Bend one knee out to the side and rest that foot against the inside of your standing leg: in the full pose it sits on the inner thigh, and lower down is fine. Lift your hands over your head. Hold for 10 counts and change legs.
  • Warrior three 1 minute. Stand tall and reach both arms straight forward. Tip forward from your hips and lift one leg straight behind you, until your arms, your body and your leg make one level line. Hold for 3 counts and come up. Do each leg twice.

Sitting in your chair 4

  • Cat and cow, sitting down 1 minute. Cat and Cow are two poses done one after the other, on a mat on hands and knees and here in a chair. Rest your hands on your knees. For Cat, round your back and look down at your lap. For Cow, lift your chest, let your back curve the other way and look ahead. Change slowly 6 times.
  • Chair twist 1 minute. This is a chair version of yoga's seated twist. Sit tall with both feet flat, turn your upper body to the right and hold the back of your chair with both hands. Look over your right shoulder for 5 counts. Come back to the front and turn to the left.
  • Lion pose 30 seconds. On a mat this pose is done kneeling; here, sit tall with your hands on your knees and your fingers spread wide. Open your mouth as wide as it goes, stick your tongue out toward your chin and open your eyes wide, like a lion. Hold for 3 counts and relax your face. Three lions.
  • Mountain pose, sitting down 30 seconds. Sit on the front half of your chair with both feet flat on the floor and your hands on your thighs. Grow tall through the top of your head, as in Mountain pose, without leaning on the back of the chair. Sit as still as a mountain for 10 slow counts.

On a carpet or mat 12

  • Boat pose 30 seconds. Sit on the floor with your knees bent. Lean back a little and lift your feet until you balance on your seat, with your chest lifted and your arms reaching forward. Hold for 5 counts and put your feet down. Three boats.
  • Butterfly pose 1 minute. Sit on the floor and bring the soles of your feet together, with your knees out to the sides. Hold your ankles and sit up tall. Let your knees sink toward the floor without pushing them, and stay for 10 counts. It is also called Bound angle pose.
  • Child's pose 1 minute. Kneel and sit back on your heels. Fold forward until your forehead rests on the floor, and lay your arms back alongside your legs with your palms up. Stay for 10 slow counts. Stretching your arms out in front of your head is fine too.
  • Cobra pose 30 seconds. Lie on your front with your legs long and your palms on the floor under your shoulders. Press down and lift your head and chest, keeping your hips and legs on the floor, and look ahead. Hold for 3 counts and lower down. Three times.
  • Crocodile pose 1 minute. Lie on your front. Fold your arms on the floor in front of you and rest your forehead on them, with your legs long and relaxed. Lie still for 10 slow counts. This one is a rest, and a good pose to finish on.
  • Downward dog 1 minute. Start on your hands and knees. Tuck your toes, lift your knees and push your hips up and back, until your body makes an upside-down V with your weight on your hands and feet. Let your head hang between your arms. Hold for 5 counts and come down to your knees.
  • Easy pose 30 seconds. Sit on the floor with your legs crossed in front of you. Rest your hands on your knees and sit up tall. Stay for 10 slow counts, then cross your legs the other way around.
  • Gate pose 1 minute. Kneel up tall. Stretch one leg straight out to the side with the foot on the floor, and stretch your arms out sideways. Lean over the straight leg until that arm rests along it, and reach the other arm up beside your head. Hold for 5 counts and change sides.
  • Locust pose 30 seconds. Lie on your front with your arms by your sides, palms down. Lift your head, your arms and your straight legs a little way off the floor, and look ahead. Hold for 3 counts and lower down. Three times.
  • Seated forward bend 1 minute. Start in Staff pose, with your legs straight out. Bend forward from your hips, without forcing it, and hold your shins or your feet. Stay for 5 counts and sit up slowly.
  • Sphinx pose 1 minute. Lie on your front and prop yourself up on your forearms, with your elbows under your shoulders and your palms flat. Your hips and legs stay on the floor. Look straight ahead for 10 counts. It is an easier form of Cobra pose.
  • Staff pose 30 seconds. Sit on the floor with both legs straight out in front of you and your toes pointing up. Put your palms or fingertips on the floor beside your hips and sit as upright as a staff. Stay for 10 counts.

How it works

These yoga brain breaks are poses to read aloud and hold, with no video to follow. Of the 31, 19 are done standing or in a chair beside a desk, and 12 need a carpet or a mat.

Read the full guide

Easy yoga brain breaks to start with

Mountain pose is standing still and tall, and many standing poses begin from it. Chair pose, Warrior two and Tree pose follow well. Sitting in your chair holds 4 for a class that cannot stand up: a seated Mountain pose, Chair twist, Cat and cow and Lion pose.

Yoga for kids: brain breaks named for animals

Animal poses marks the 8 named for a creature: Eagle, Cat and cow, Lion, Downward dog, Cobra, Butterfly, Locust and Crocodile. Five of them need a mat. Crocodile pose is a rest on folded arms, and a good one to finish on.

  • Read the name, show the shape, then count aloud. The counts in each line are slow ones.
  • Keep balances near a desk or a chair: Tree, Eagle, Dancer and Warrior three all wobble.

Questions and answers

What is a good yoga brain break for a small classroom?

Mountain pose, Chair pose and Garland pose stay inside the space of one chair. Tree pose and Eagle pose are balances on one leg and need no more room. All five take a minute or less.

Does brain break yoga need a mat?

For 12 of the 31, yes: a mat or a carpet. Downward dog, Cobra pose and Child's pose are done on the floor.

Are these real yoga poses?

Yes. Each has its usual English name, and its name and shape were checked against Wikipedia's list of asanas and the articles it links to. The four done in a chair are adapted for a classroom, and each line says so.

How long do you hold a pose in a yoga brain break?

For a slow count of 3 to 10, given in the line. Cat and cow and the sun salutation keep moving instead. The timer is set to the whole break: 30 seconds for 11 poses, 1 minute for 19, 2 minutes for the sun salutation.

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