Each day of the week has its own particular flavor: Monday is a mind-swirling blur; Tuesday sees a spike in stress levels; Wednesday requires a Herculean effort just to get out the door. With a schedule as packed as yours, how can you create some bona fide breathing room?

The answer lies in a few targeted yoga moves that you can do right at home. In 5 to 10 minutes each day, you can use slow, quiet, restorative yoga poses to nip stress in the bud.

Unlike a power yoga class or invigorating Vinyasa flow, this practice works its magic through stillness. By relaxing in these restful postures, your body and mind have an opportunity to renew and revitalize.

"When you stay in a pose without exerting muscular effort, the fascia and ligaments, or connective tissues of your body, get a rare chance to stretch," explains Noel Schroeder, a Boston-area yoga teacher and co-creator of the DVD "Notice Your Experience."

What's more, stretching these supportive tissues also opens pathways of vital energy (also known as "nadis" in the yogic tradition, or meridians in Chinese medicine) that run throughout the body. "This helps release chronic tension, increase the flow of energy, and reinvigorate mind and body," she adds.

We've worked with Schroeder to design the following pose-a-day yoga plan to suit even the busiest of schedules. When paired with simple household props, such as a pillow or blanket, these easy-to-do moves provide a powerful antidote to life's daily stressors, whether you use them to ease into your day or to undo tension in the evening -- or both.