The yoga class is where millions of women have gone to stretch themselves toward not only good health and a limber body but also a stress free mind. So why is getting there such a gauntlet? You juggle your itinerary to squeeze the difficultly scheduled classes into your jam-packed day. Then you battle traffic and fight for parking. Once there you have to endure the yoga snobs who turn their Zen, ultra limber little noses up at you. It’s a bundle of stress just to get a little exercise; the road to nirvana looks perpetually under construction. If you want to get the yoga benefits without the yoga class hassles, yoga at home might be for you.

If you have never taken a yoga class, you’re probably not real hip on the idea of throwing your self into a self-styled yoga routine. After all, yoga is really complicated stuff that you definitely need the guidance of a yoga master to even begin to attempt, right? I mean, experimenting with yoga is like experimenting with juggling fire: just a bad idea all over. Wrong. An at home yoga routine is not only possible, but potentially very rewarding. Yoga is really supposed to be all about you, so where better to achieve that inner peace than by yourself in the comfort of your home?

Where to Start: Yoga is such a flexible form of workout because it requires no equipment aside from a mat or even a towel. You will want to wear clothes that are loose and comfortable or, if you prefer, a leotard. Shoes are not necessary and in fact are not preferred. Now you’ll want to find a quiet place in the house that is well-ventilated and free of distraction. Yoga does not have to be a drain on time. If you practice daily, you can easily get a benefit out of as little as 15 minutes a day.

The Routine: This routine is designed for beginners, but anyone can reap its benefits. The first we’ll start with is the classic Child’s Pose. It’s perfect for relieving the stress of a long day and regaining energy

Child’s Pose:

1) Kneel on the floor. Touch your big toes together and sit on your heels, then separate your knees about as wide as your hips.

2) Exhale and lay your torso down between your thighs. Broaden your sacrum across the back of your pelvis and narrow your hip points toward the navel, so that they nestle down onto the inner thighs. Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of the pelvis while you lift the base of your skull away from the back of your neck.

3) Lay your hands on the floor alongside your torso, palms up, and release the fronts of your shoulders toward the floor. Feel how the weight of the front shoulders pulls the shoulder blades wide across your back.

4) This is a resting pose. Stay anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes. Beginners can also use the child’s pose to get a taste of a deep forward bend, where the torso rests on the thighs. Stay in the pose from 1 to 3 minutes. To come up, first lengthen the front torso, and then with an inhalation lift from the tailbone as it presses down and into the pelvis.

Cat Stretch:

The cat pose improves flexibility of the neck, shoulders and spine, tones the female reproductive system, and strengthens abdominal muscles. It also stimulates your pancreas, affecting the stomach and liver, and will release any tension in the solar plexus and help the endocrine system to function more fluidly.

1) Start on your hands and knees in a "tabletop" position. Make sure your knees are set directly below your hips and your wrists, elbows and shoulders are in line and perpendicular to the floor. Center your head in a neutral position, eyes looking at the floor.

2) As you exhale, round your spine toward the ceiling, making sure to keep your shoulders and knees in position. Release your head toward the floor, but don't force your chin to your chest.

3) Inhale, coming back to neutral "tabletop" position on your hands and knees.

Downward Dog:

This is a great strengthening pose and even if you’ve never done yoga before, you’ve probably heard of this one.

1) Come to your hands and knees with the wrists underneath the shoulders and the knees underneath the hips.

2) Curl the toes under and push back raising the hips and straightening the legs.

3) Spread the fingers and ground down from the forearms into the fingertips.

4) Outwardly rotate the upper arms broadening the collarbones.

5) Let the head hang, move the shoulder blades away from the ears towards the hips.

6) Engage the quadriceps strongly to take the weight off the arms, making this a resting pose.

7) Rotate the thighs inward, keep the tail high and sink your heels to the floor.

8) Check that the distance between your hands and feet is correct by coming forward to a plank position. The distance between the hands and feet should be the same in these two poses. Do not step the feet toward the hands in Down Dog in order the get the heels to the floor. This will happen eventually as the muscles lengthen.

Cobra Pose:

This one is designed for spinal strength and flexibility.

1) Lie prone on the floor. Stretch your legs back, tops of the feet on the floor. Spread your hands on the floor under your shoulders. Hug the elbows back into your body.

2) Press the tops of the feet and thighs and the pubis firmly into the floor.

3) On an inhalation, begin to straighten the arms to lift the chest off the floor, going only to the height at which you can maintain a connection through your pubis to your legs. Press the tailbone toward the pubis and lift the pubis toward the navel. Narrow the hip points. Firm but don't harden the buttocks.

4) Firm the shoulder blades against the back, puffing the side ribs forward. Lift through the top of the sternum but avoid pushing the front ribs forward, which only hardens the lower back. Distribute the backbend evenly throughout the entire spine.

5) Hold the pose anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds, breathing easily. Release back to the floor with an exhalation.

Corpse Pose:

Though a morbid sounding move, the corpse pose is an ideal cool down exercise

1) Sit on the floor with your knees bent, feet on the floor, and lean back onto your forearms. Lift your pelvis slightly off the floor and, with your hands, push the back of the pelvis toward the tailbone, then return the pelvis to the floor. Inhale and slowly extend the right leg, then the left, pushing through the heels. Release both legs, softening the groins, and see that the legs are angled evenly relative to the mid-line of the torso, and that the feet turn out equally. Narrow the front pelvis and soften (but don't flatten) the lower back.

2) With your hands lift the base of the skull away from the back of the neck and release the back of the neck down toward the tailbone. If you have any difficulty doing this, support the back of the head and neck on a folded blanket. Broaden the base of the skull too, and lift the crease of the neck diagonally into the center of the head. Make sure your ears are equidistant from your shoulders.

3) Reach your arms toward the ceiling, perpendicular to the floor. Rock slightly from side to side and broaden the back ribs and the shoulder blades away from the spine. Then release the arms to the floor, angled evenly relative to the mid-line of torso. Turn the arms outward and stretch them away from the space between the shoulder blades. Rest the backs of the hands on the floor as close as you comfortably can to the index finger knuckles. Make sure the shoulder blades are resting evenly on the floor. Imagine the lower tips of the shoulder blades are lifting diagonally into your back toward the top of the sternum. From here, spread the collarbones.

4) In addition to quieting the physical body in corpse pose, it's also necessary to relax the sense organs. Soften the root of the tongue, the wings of the nose, the channels of the inner ears, and the skin of the forehead, especially around the bridge of the nose between the eyebrows. Let the eyes sink to the back of the head, then turn them downward to gaze at the heart. Imagine your mind sliding to the back of the head.

5) Stay in this pose for 5 minutes for every 30 minutes of practice. To exit, first roll gently with an exhalation onto one side, preferably the right. Take 2 or 3 breaths. With another exhalation press your hands against the floor and lift your torso, dragging your head slowly after. The head should always come up last.

This is the end of the routine. If all went well, you should feel at least 10 pounds lighter and ready to move on with your day. As you go through this daily routine remember, yoga is not supposed to hurt. If you find any discomfort with any of the positions you apply, discounting and seek the advice of an expert.