Taylor Lorenz—known online as Taylor’s Tracks—is a certified yoga teacher with more than 800 hours of training in vinyasa, hatha, and yin yoga. Here, she guides you through a yin yoga practice to stretch your tense glute muscles.

Your glutes hold a lot of tension. The often overlooked area tends to get a periphery stretch in many yoga poses, but drawing your focus directly to your glute muscles can actually help unleash related tightness in your hips and lower back. Once your body is done compensating for your tight glutes, you might even find that your new alignment let’s you stand up a little straighter.

This yin yoga flow doubles as a series of glute stretches. Practice these poses one at a time or as a series of connected shapes and welcome the feeling of release.

10-Minute Yin Yoga for Your Glutes

Yin yoga calls for extended holds, and some might feel better with a little support. Keep a couple of yoga blocks, a cushion, even a pillow close by to make sure you’re relatively comfortable in every shape. Some slight discomfort is fine, but strain or intense tension is not.

Tabletop or Downward-Facing Dog

Begin in hands and knees, also known as Tabletop. Stay here, or curl your toes and press up into Downward-Facing Dog.

Three-Legged Dog

Sweep your right leg up and back. Bend your right knee.

Swan Pose

Guide your right knee to land behind your right wrist, and bring your shin to rest on the mat at an angle away the top edge of your mat. Walk your left leg long behind you. Come onto tented fingertips.

Stay upright, maybe with blocks underneath your hands, as you lift through your heart. Or choose to bow forward into Sleeping Swan.

Stay here for 1-3 minutes or as long as you’d like. If you were folded forward, slowly begin to peel your upper body away from the ground.

Half Shoelace or Shoelace

Shift your weight fully onto your right sit bone. Swing your left leg from behind you to in straight in front of you. Bend your right knee and cross it over your left knee in Half Shoelace.

Stay here or, for more intensity, bend your left knee and come into Shoelace Pose. Guide your heels equal distance away from your hips, and do your best to settle both sit bones equally onto the mat.

Remain here, or add even more intensity by folding forward over one or both bent legs.

Stay in your chosen shape for 1-3 minutes or as long as you’d like.

Slowly draw yourself back upright and press up to Downward-Facing Dog. Take a full breath here, pedaling out your feet. When you’re ready, repeat the following poses on the opposite side:

• Three-Legged Dog
• Swan Pose
• Half Shoelace or Shoelace
• Downward-Facing Dog

Child’s Pose

Lightly bring your knees to the mat. Take your knees out wide with your toes coming together to touch. Melt your sit bones back toward your heels into Child’s Pose, reaching your arms forward and resting your forehead on the mat or a block.

Stay here for 1-3 minutes or as long as you’d like.

Closing

When you’re ready, use your hands to help you walk upright, sitting back on your heels. Bring your hands to meet in front of your heart center, bowing your head so your third eye meets your fingertips. Thank yourself for showing up on your mat today.