Valentine’s Day: How couples yoga helps to relieve stress in your relationship

Valentine’s Day often celebrates romance through words, gifts, and shared moments. Yet beyond these expressions lies a deeper longing felt by many couples: the desire to feel truly seen, supported, and emotionally connected. Certain spiritual practices that foster health and the relationship may subtly improve it, and couple yoga is one such practice.

What is couples yoga?

Couple yoga is not about flexibility or perfect postures. It is about presence. Once two are on the mat, they are in a collective world of consciousness where they do not talk; they communicate. “Breathing in rhythm, moving with mutual support, and maintaining gentle eye contact create a sense of emotional safety. This security forms the basis for trust to develop” Yoga and spiritual leader, Himalayan Siddhaa Akshar tells Health Shots.

Relationship building is based on learning to trust the other partner and not to hesitate to count on them. Balance and coordination are common requirements in couple yoga. “One of the partners can lean back with the other partner, understanding that the other partner will stay”, says the yoga expert. Another posture may involve synchronised movement, where timing matters more than strength.

These scenes resemble real-life relationships, where one builds trust through small acts of kindness and tolerance. “Every successful pose confirms the idea that support will be provided when needed”, says the expert. The emotional attachment goes further, as people feel heard without needing to elaborate.

Can couples yoga improve communication?

Couple yoga encourages non-verbal communication through touch, posture, and breath. A gentle adjustment, a steady hand, or a shared pause can express care more clearly than words. “This non-verbal communication helps partners be more understanding of one another’s emotional conditions, fostering empathy and compassion”, says Akshar.

Can stress cause distance in a relationship?

Stress tends to distance relationships. Daily responsibilities, unspoken worries, and emotional fatigue can slowly weaken intimacy. Yoga practices can help couples relieve this strain together. “As the body relaxes, the mind follows, making space for calmness and openness. This mutual relaxing effect enhances emotional availability, and partners can reconnect without any pressure or expectation,” says the expert.

Best couples yoga poses worth doing with your partner

Yoga and spiritual leader, Himalayan Siddhaa Akshar shares yoga asanas that couples can do:

1. Partner twist

   The Partner Twist is performed with the backs of each partner leaning against each other. As you inhale together, the spine lengthens; as you exhale, you twist in opposite directions. This position represents respect for individuality in togetherness. Each partner acts autonomously but is supported. It is a mild form of detoxing the body, and it reminds the couples that growth usually occurs when we give space and distance.

2. Flying warrior (flying partner pose)

This playful yet powerful pose is rooted in trust. One partner becomes the base, grounded on the mat, while the flyer leans forward and rises with support. Flying Warrior cultivates confidence, communication, and vulnerability. It emphasises that one can only be free in a relationship when there is a sense of stability beneath it.

3. Temple pose

Standing face-to-face, partners hinge forward and rest their forearms, hands, and weight against one another. Temple Pose requires the same level of effort and emotional commitment. It stretches the shoulders and chest, loosening the ego. This pose reminds us that when both partners lean in, relationships prosper, not just one.

4. Twin tree pose

In Twin Tree Pose, partners stand side by side, forearms connected, opposite arms lifted, and one leg rooted into the earth. Balance here is shared, not forced. Where one partner has weakened, the other strengthens. This posture strengthens the legs and the mind, reinforcing the truth that balance in relationships is co-created.

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5. Partner breathing

Partner Breathing is one of the most basic and profound practices, practised while seated with backs touching. Breaths are synchronised, with partners inhaling and exhaling together. This silent form of interaction relaxes the nervous system and deepens intimacy. Without words, couples learn to listen to breath, to silence, to each other.