Skip to main content

Top 5 Yoga Postures for Beginners

For centuries, yoga has provided health and wellbeing to thousands of practitioners. Yoga is a physical regimen that builds the body's strength and flexibility, balance and stamina. More importantly to many yogis, the method also develops the same attributes in the mind. Yoga provides stress release, balance, and centering that helps with facing everyday life more effectively. Yoga is often called a body-mind exercise for this reason.

All of this great 21st-century technology is taking its toll on our bodies, and the body part most adversely affected seems to be the back. Endless sitting at computers or in cars compresses the spine and tightens the muscles in the surrounding areas. Yoga is a great way to release the muscles that pull the spine out of alignment.
Often people will see photos or video of advanced yoga students or instructors and think, "I can't do that; I'm not that flexible!" But everyone must start at the beginning in order to reach the advanced postures. Yogis spend years mastering their craft and were once also beginners. By working diligently on the most basic yoga poses, anyone can advance over time to the beautiful, sophisticated, and complex postures that make yoga seem challenging.

Here are five simple yoga poses to get you started on a path to health and happiness.

Child's Pose
Kneel on a mat, and slowly lower your buttocks to the back of your legs. Bring your torso and arms slowly down to the mat. Lengthen your arms out in front of you, moving your hands forward until your forehead is touching the mat.

child pose

Relax and enjoy the stretch. Hold the position. A minimum of one minute is recommended, but don't time yourself. Finish when it feels appropriate for your body.

Downward Dog
Kneeling on the mat with arms straight and palms down, straighten your knees so that your body is in an inverted "V" position. If you are tight in the hamstrings or anywhere in the legs, bend the knees slightly to take off the pressure.

Don't give up if this is uncomfortable. Think about your breathing instead. Over time, you'll get more flexible in these areas and you'll be able to keep the legs straight.

Downward Dog builds upper body strength and low body flexibility.



Warrior II
Standing with your feet a little more than shoulder width apart, turn one foot out to the side. Lift your arms with palms facing downward parallel to the floor. Bend the knee of the turned-out foot until the lower leg forms a 90-degree angle to the floor. Hold and repeat on the other side.

You'll soon be a real warrior with this pose's work on balance and low body strength.
Tree Preparation
Balance is one of the difficult aspects for new yoga students. To improve balance and get ready for the Tree Pose, stand next to a chair or other stable object. Hold the object with one hand to the side, while your feet and body are facing forward. Place the sole of the opposite foot inside the facing thigh. Hold and repeat on the other side.

Over time, remove some of your fingers until you don't need the prop at all.

Eventually you'll be able to do the Tree Posture without your hands touching anything!
 Tree
When you feel your balance has improved from Tree Preparation, do the same exercise but with your hands in front of you, palms touching in front of your heart.
Tree pose

Don't forget in each of these exercises to continue breathing. There is no right or wrong breathing; just breathe naturally. Holding your breath will defeat the purpose of the exercises and put stress on the muscles. Practiced yogis will inhale and exhale with a sound that helps them focus the mind. The sound of breathing for beginners is also a great way to check that you are in fact breathing!

In the beginning, take your time to master the beginning poses, develop your breathing skills, and just savor how good you feel. Enjoy the moment!

Sarah Boisvert is a seasoned writer who has covered topics from yoga and travel in India to diet and nutrition as well as business and management. She has profiled business leaders such as Steve Wynn and Dr. Oz. 

Photo  Credits: "Woman Doing Exercise", "Warrior Pose" by farconville, "Girl Practicing Yoga" by meepoohfoto   via FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Comments

  1. Virat2:23 PM

    Finished my first lesson…loved it & thank you for your kindness & sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bindu2:30 PM

    Another very basic yoga pose is baby pose. It is a good pose to relax in whenever you need to take break during your yoga session.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2:41 PM

    Benefits of Yoga Positions for Beginner’s
    Promotes overall flexibility and strength.
    Clears blockages and increases energy flow.
    Triggers the natural healing capacity of the body, promoting health and well-being.
    Promotes peace and emotional balance.
    Purifies one’s energy and raises one’s level of vibration and consciousness.
    Improves balance and coordination.
    Helps increase metabolism and assists in weight loss.
    Builds mental focus and concentration.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments posted on this blog are moderated and approved only if they are relevant, on-topic and not abusive. Avoid using links to your site/blog in the body of your comment unless it is highly relevant to the post.

Popular posts from this blog

Home remedies for sore throat

Sore throat is a common malady that each one of us faces sometime or the other in our lifetime.  That scratchy, dry and abrasively painful feeling at the back of the throat that you experience is so very discomforting! There are many ways to relieve that scratchy and painful, infected throat. Sore throat home remedies are many and varied and range from the folk ones to the medically tested and proven ones.  With this common recurring condition many sufferers have their own favourite sore throat treatments that seem to work for them. Sore throat is one of the ailments which responds very well to home based remedies, so there is no reason why one should hesitate to try out these invaluable tips which have been handed over to us by generations of yore.  After all these remedies have negligible side-effects and so there is no harm in trying them. And you can always rush to a doctor if they don’t work for you. 

Kapalabhati Pranayam for wrinkle-free, radiant complexion

Did you know that Kapalabhati Pranayam / kriya can also be used to enhance your beauty and ward off skin aging? Done the right way,  Kapalabhati Pranayam can be used as a beauty aid - it can give you a wrinkle-free, luminous forehead and radiant complexion. Kapalabhati For Beauty   ‘Kapalabhati’ Pranayam breathing exercise is an excellent way of maintaining good health and fighting diseases. ‘Kapala’ means ‘skull’ (and ‘forehead’ also) and ‘bhati’ means ‘shining’. By doing kapalabhati, the ‘nadis’(nerves) of the brain get good exercise. This is achieved by exercising the diaphragm. There will be a glow on the forehead. After the age of 25, the tell-tale signs of ageing start making their appearance in the form of fine lines on the forehead. A regular practice of Kapalabhati for 10-15 minutes everyday will give you a tight forehead sans wrinkles for many years to come. Avoid Botox, try Kapalabhati Why resort to Botox   and other expensive chemical or surgica...

Pore shrinking mask recipes from home

A face with large open pores when seen from close quarters doesn’t look so good. While it’s quite common for oily skins to have a tendency towards open pores, an attack of pimples also leaves ugly scars and open pores behind.  Even though the scars may fade away after some time, open pores appear to be more obstinate and hardly show any signs of shrinking.  Age also takes its toll by giving an uneven/pigmented tone to the skin and making the open pores more prominent. Heredity could also be a contributing factor in determining your pore size. It’s not easy to get rid of these pores or shrink them completely or permanently using serums, lotions or face packs. Even resorting to drastic chemical/surgical procedures at the dermatologist’s isn’t quite capable of giving satisfactory results.  Nevertheless, you can try and minimize their appearance at least temporarily with clever makeup and a few natural skin care masks such as these: * Cleanse your face with a mild ...

Teeth whitening remedies

Teeth could be naturally dark or could be discolored by repeated exposure to beverages like tea, coffee or red wine, smoking and also medications apart from decay and trauma to the tooth. If you want your captivating smile to be adorned by a row of glistening pearly white teeth, then try these treatments and remedies: ‘In chair’ bleaching at the dentist for teeth whitening Though there are several options available for teeth whitening, bleaching at a cosmetic dentistry clinic can significantly lighten your teeth within an hour. A large percentage of the people who have undergone bleaching have experienced a positive change in the color of their teeth. Read about it at About Cosmetic dentisty . ‘At home’ teeth whitening bleaching kit The ‘at home’ teeth whitening technique is also a popular bleaching procedure to whiten your teeth. You can obtain the bleaching kit from your dentist or make an over-the counter purchase. Use it conveniently at night and the gel should work while you sleep...

11 things you can do with olive oil

Besides lemon , milk , sugar , aloe , turmeric , sandalwood and honey , olive oil is another household item that has multifarious uses as a beauty aid. It is a mild, non-irritant, antibacterial oil that is rich in antioxidants; hence is ideal for the skin. Here are a few things that you could do with olive oil .