Adding yoga to your workout routine comes with some amazing benefits. It helps tone your muscles, boosts flexibility and balance, and is great for relaxation and stress relief, especially with its signature pranayama breathing techniques. Plus, studies show that yoga can lower stress, anxiety, and depression, ease chronic pain, improve sleep, and generally enhance your well-being and quality of life.
Thinking about giving it a go? Here are eight beginner yoga poses, or “asanas,” that yoga instructors recommend for getting started.
1. Easy Pose — Sukhasana — to Relieve Stress
Sit cross-legged on your yoga mat with your hands resting on your knees, palms facing up. Try to keep your spine straight and press your sit bones down into the floor. Close your eyes and take a deep breath in.
“This is a great starting pose for beginners,” says Gwen Lawrence, a yoga coach for athletes and celebrities. “Sitting like this helps you notice and feel the rotation in your legs.” Plus, this pose improves back flexibility and can help you relax.
2. Cat-Cow to Awaken the Spine and Ease Back Pain
Get on your mat on all fours, with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Make sure to spread your fingers wide and distribute your weight evenly between your hands. Inhale and arch your back up, tucking your chin to your chest, like a stretching cat. Feel the stretch from your neck to your tailbone. As you exhale, lower your back into a scoop shape and lift your head, tilting it back.
“Cat-Cow stretches are great for waking up your spine and easing back pain,” says Leah Cullis, a certified yoga teacher and co-author of Power Yoga: Strength, Sweat, and Spirit. “This move also increases flexibility in your spine, neck, chest, and shoulders. Try repeating it 5 to 10 times or more.”
3. Tree Pose — Vrksasana — to Improve Your Balance
Start by standing up straight. Put your hands together in a prayer position and lift them over your head. Balance on your right leg and bend your left knee out to the side. Place your left foot on the inner thigh of your right leg, or just rest it on your ankle—don’t press it against your knee to avoid injury. Hold this position for 30 seconds, then switch legs and repeat.
“This pose stretches your body from your heels to the tips of your fingers,” says Shea Vaughn, a wellness and fitness expert and author of Breakthrough: The 5 Living Principles to Defeat Stress, Look Great, and Find Total Well-Being. “It also helps improve your balance.”
4. Downward-Facing Dog — Adho Mukha Svanasana — to Enhance Flexibility
In Downward-Facing Dog, your body should make an upside-down V-shape. Start by putting your hands on the mat in front of you, palms down, just a bit ahead of your shoulders. Place your knees on the ground under your hips. As you exhale, lift your knees off the ground and push your hips up toward the ceiling. Push your thighs back and try to stretch your heels toward the floor. Keep your head between your arms, not hanging down. If your lower back starts to round, bend your knees a little to help lengthen your back.
“Downward-Facing Dog is great for calming your nervous system, improving flexibility, decompressing your spine, toning your arms, shaping your legs, and opening your shoulders,” says Cullis. You can hold this pose for five breaths on each side or longer if you want to build strength. Inhale as you lengthen from your wrists to your hips, and exhale as you deepen the stretch from your hips to your heels, Cullis suggests.
5. Child’s Pose — Balasana — to Help You Relax and Unwind
From Downward-Facing Dog, gently bend your knees and lower your hips towards your heels, bringing your chest down towards the floor. Let your shoulders and head rest on the ground. You can stretch your arms along your sides with palms down or fold your arms under your forehead to support your head. Take your time to breathe and relax in this position.
“Child’s Pose is one of the most soothing yoga poses, and it’s my personal favorite,” says Cullis. “It helps you reconnect with your breath and calms your muscles. It’s a great way to ground yourself, turn inward, and shift your focus from a busy mind to a relaxed body by tuning into your breath.” Child’s Pose is perfect for taking a break and unwinding during your yoga session or whenever you’re feeling tired or stressed.
6. Baby Pigeon Pose to Open Up Your Hips
From all fours, bring your right knee forward between your hands, as if you’re about to do a lunge. Straighten your left leg behind you, keeping the knee and top of your foot on the floor. Rotate your right knee towards your right wrist, and place your right calf flat on the floor with your right foot resting under your left groin. Lower your upper body over the bent leg, either reaching the floor or resting on your elbows. Take five slow breaths in and out. Before switching sides, push back on your left leg to stretch your calf muscles. Then, repeat the process with your left leg bent and right leg extended.
This pose is a favorite among runners because it helps with hip flexibility and releases tension in the glutes and lower back, says Lawrence. “Whether you run, lift weights, do CrossFit, or Spin, this stretch is key for staying strong and flexible and boosting your performance,” she adds. It might feel tough at first, but Lawrence promises you’ll come to appreciate it.
Also Read: Meal Planning 101: 8 Tips for a Balanced Diet
7. Mountain Pose — Tadasana — to Improve Your Posture
Stand still with your chest open and your hands at your sides. Feel how your feet connect with the floor and notice the sensations in your legs and back. Then, take a look at your posture in a mirror. Lawrence has her athletes hold long pencils in each hand while they stand. “I ask them to look at the pencils and see how they point, like a compass. Are they pointing the same way? Does one point straight and the other point to a different direction?”
This pose helps you see if there are any imbalances in your shoulders and gives you clues on what to work on. If one pencil is pointing in a different direction, it likely means that shoulder is also off.
8. Legs-up-the-Wall Pose — Viparita Karani — to Restore and Revitalize
This is a fantastic pose for both beginners and seasoned yogis. Start by lying on the floor with your butt right up against a wall. Then, “walk” your legs straight up the wall so your body forms an L shape, with your torso flat on the floor and perpendicular to the wall. You might want to place a rolled-up blanket under your lower back for extra support and keep your elbows out to the sides on the floor. Flex your toes to stretch the backs of your legs. Breathe deeply and hold the position for as long as you feel comfortable. When you’re ready to come out, gently bring your knees to your chest and roll onto your side.
This pose helps refresh tired legs and gives you a nice boost of energy, according to Lawrence.
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