Yoga Poses Tips & Information for Beginners | Health Partners
Yoga Poses Tips & Information for Beginners
Yoga Poses | There are many good reasons to add yoga to your training routine. Yoga improves muscle tone, flexibility and balance, and it helps you relax and reduce stress, thanks to the characteristic pranayama breathing (which simply means you constantly breathe in and exhale through your nose). Some studies have even shown that yoga can reduce the symptoms of depression, anxiety and chronic pain better than traditional therapy alone.
Ready to try? Here, eight beginner positions - called "asanas" - are recommended by yoga teachers.
1 Easy Cross Leg (Sukhasana) for Stress Relief
Yoga Poses | Sit cross-legged on a yoga mat with your hand on your knees, with the palms facing up. Keep your spine as straight as possible. Push the bones you are sitting on down into the floor - your "sitbones" in yoga speaking. Close your eyes and inhale. "This is a great pose for beginners to use as a review," says Gwen Lawrence, yoga coach for the New York Giants and other sports teams and celebrities. "Just sitting on the floor gives you a perfect way to see and feel the external rotation on the legs." This posture also increases back flexibility and can help to relieve stress.
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2 Cat-Cow Tip posing for back pain
Yoga Poses | Sit on your hands and feet with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. Divide your weight evenly over your hands and spread your fingers wide. Breathe in and around your back as you bend it up as you lower your chin to your chest; feel the stretching of your neck to your tailbone, like a cat. As you exhale, lower your back down to a scoop shape as you lift your head and tilt backwards. "Repeat a few times to loosen your spine and open your chest," says Susie Lopez, a New York yoga and wellness educator.
3 Tree Pose for balance
Yoga Poses | Start by standing upright in front of this posture. Put your hands together in the prayer position and lift them over your head. Balance your right leg. Bend your left knee to the left and press your left foot onto the inner thigh of your right leg. Hold for 30 seconds. Switch legs and repeat. "This posture helps the body stretch for a long time, from the heels to the tips of your fingers," says fitness trainer and wellness coach Shea Vaughn, author of Breakthrough: the 5 principles of life to defeat stress, to look good and to find Total Well . Being (and mother of actor Vince Vaughn). It will also help you to improve your balance and flexibility.
4 Downward Dog for Flexibility
Yoga Poses | Your body forms an inverted V shape in the downward facing dog. Start by placing both hands on the mat in front of you, with the palms facing down. Your hands must be something for your shoulders. Place your knees on the floor directly under your hips. Breathe out as you lift your knees from the floor and lift your buttocks and hips to the ceiling. Push the top of your thighs backwards and stretch your heels down towards the floor. Keep your head between your upper arms and in line with them, not hanging down. Look at your belly. "The most important thing is to create a long straight back," says Lopez. Hold the position for 5 to 10 breaths and try to deepen your stretching with each exhalation.
5 Child's Pose for Relaxation
Yoga Poses | This is one of the most healing of all yoga postures, says Lopez, reminiscent of the fetal position. When you feel overwhelmed or tired, you relax in the child's posture, she says. From a downward facing dog, simply bend your knees and lower your butt on your heels as you bring your chest to the floor over your knees. Lower your shoulders and go to the ground. Place your arms along your body, palms up, or you can support your head by folding your arms under your forehead. Breathe and relax as long as necessary. This pose is also good for stretching your back, says Jane Foody, New York area instructor, yoga teacher trainer and author of Guided Relaxation and Savasana scripts for yoga teachers.
6 Baby pigeon posing for hip flexibility
Yoga Poses | From hands and feet, move your right knee forward between your hands. As if you are performing a breakdown, slowly make your left leg straight behind you and hold the knee and the top of the foot on the floor. Now turn the right knee to the right wrist and lower it to the floor with your right calf flat on the floor and your right foot resting under your left groin. Lower your upper body over the bent leg, all the way to the ground or resting on your elbows. Breathe in slowly and exhale five times. Before you change sides, push your left leg back to stretch the calf muscles. Repeat with bent left leg and right leg stretched. This pose is a favorite for runners because it increases hip flexibility and also releases the buttocks and low back, says Lawrence. "If you run, lift, cross or turn, you have to do this to stay strong and flexible and improve your performance." It may be a challenge in the beginning, but you will learn to love this pose, Lawrence promises.
7 Standing Mountain Pose for relaxation
Yoga Poses | This pose is pure simplicity, says Lawrence. Stand still, with your chest open and wide and your hands beside you, and feel your feet on the floor and the sensations in your legs and back. Then analyze your posture for a mirror. Lawrence lets her athletes hold long pencils in each hand as they stand. "I say they have to look at the pencils and, like a compass, see how they point, are they the same, aim one point straight and the other one at three on the clock?" This pose will show if you have imbalances in your shoulders and give you instructions on what to work on. If a pencil is turned in a lot, your shoulder is like that too.
8 Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani) for restoration
Yoga Poses | This is a great end pose for beginners and people who have experience with yoga. Lie down on the floor with your ass straight against a wall. "Walk" your legs straight up, so that your body is in an L-shape with your torso flat on the floor and perpendicular to the wall. You may want to place a rolled up blanket under your lower back for support; keep your elbows on the sides on the floor for extra support. Bend the toes to feel a stretch in the backs of your legs. Breathe deeply and hold the position as long as you want. To free yourself, bring your knees to your chest and roll to your side. Advantage of this yoga pill: it revitalizes tired legs and brings renewed vigor in your step, says Lawrence.
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