If you want to begin your journey with yoga, you have come to the right place. It might seem overwhelming and intimidating to begin something you have no idea about but you just need to remember that everyone has been a beginner and you will find your stride with it. This ancient practice is linked to many health benefits that are too good to skip out on so be patient with your body and mind and wait for it all to connect.
Here is a list of simple yoga poses that you can do to help you ease into the whole practice but also educate you on why these poses are mentally and physically beneficial to you.
Downward Facing Dog
This is a great beginner’s pose as it does not require anything that your body can’t handle and you might have already done this before without knowing it but just because it’s a perfect beginner’s pose doesn’t mean that it is easy by any means.
Begin on all fours, with your palms down. Lift your hips towards the sky, keeping your toes pointed towards the front on the mat, and sink your heels towards the floor. With your back completely straight, you should be creating a triangle or pyramid shape.
Beginners often lean too far forward, making it more like a plank. Keep your weight mostly in your legs.
BONUS
Add a variation or some movement in this pose to open up your hips, such as bending your knees one at a time and slowly moving your hips with it.
Warrior
If you have ever done a lunge before, then getting familiar with the warrior pose shouldn’t be an issue. Keeping your hips facing forward and your back leg slightly slanted, you do a comfortable lunge, raising your arms in the air.
The critical thing to remember with this variation of the warrior pose is to think of your hip points as headlights and they should be almost fully parallel to the front of your mat. This yoga post may require taking a wider stance. You should get a good opening feeling around your hips.
Extended Side Angle
Having a wide stance with one point facing the front of the mat and the other pointing towards the side of the mat, learn and bring your body down with your palm lying flat parallel to the food that points to the front of the mat and slowly rise your other arm till it’s point to the sky.
Your arm should not be much wait and rest lightly on the mat. This pose opens your shoulders but also gives you a good stretch in your back, arms and hips. It’s a good all-rounder yoga pose that feels like you are opening your body to a big stretch.
Standing Forward Bend
This pose is exactly how it sounds. Imagine it’s like touching your toes and while you might not be so flexible at first, you will eventually be able to bend and grab your legs or lay your palms flat on the mat.
Begin this post by exhaling before you bend and fold over your legs. If your body doesn’t yet feel flexible and your hamstrings are tight, bend your knees slightly to release your spine and let your head hang nice and heavy.
You don’t have to have straight legs for this pose but if you can, then that’s an impressive bonus.
BONUS
Fold your arms, hold on each opposite elbow and begin to gently sway from side to side until you feel some sort of comfort or release.
Final Thoughts
You can add more yoga poses as you begin to feel more confident or you have some more time in the day to do them. Start off slow so as not to overwhelm yourself and add more variations and poses as time goes on and your interest in this ancient practice begins to grow.
You will begin to be intrigued to find out there are so many poses that you can add to your routine and each one is just as beneficial as the last one. With the vast amount of health benefits, including its link with weight loss, you will feel happy, healthier and enough so you feel like a brand new woman in a little black dress.