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Yoga Poses For Beginners
It was once the preserve of hippy-ish yummy mummies and spiritual types but yoga is now recognised by the mainstream as body conditioning that can benefit everyone.
You don’t need to fork out a lot of money going to classes and all you really need is mat and a bit of time.
Yoga has its roots in India, there are hundreds of variations in the practices from Ashtanga yoga which is an intense almost cardio based practice to Hatha a practice that focuses mainly on the breath and the meditative space of body focus.
As a Personal Trainer I think that every – body... can benefit from yoga. I have created this simple guide with 7 yoga poses for beginners to help you enjoy the many benefits of yoga from the comfort of your own home.
The Benefits of Yoga
- Easy to practice at home with no more equipment than a mat
- Increases flexibility and stretches out sore muscles
- Can prevent injury in sport and other training by loosening tightness in the muscles
- Builds on core stability
- Brings the attention to the body and its movement – great for working on mind/muscle connection when you are training
Yoga Poses
Whilst holding each pose try to bring your attention to the body and breath, feel the weight through the soles of the feet and breathe in and out deeply.
Hold each pose for 5 breaths and perform in a sequence repeating 3 times.
So here are our 7 yoga poses for beginners – with tips on each pose.
Yoga Pose # 1: Mountain
Feet hip width apart
Spread the weight evenly across your 2 feet
Hands by your side
Breathe at an even pace in through the nose and out through the mouth
Tilt your pelvis forward and squeeze your pelvic floor muscles tightly
Yoga Pose # 2: Pigeon
Lower yourself gently into the stretch
Support your upper body with finger tips on the ground
Try to get the bent leg at a 90 degree angle in front of you
Feel the stretch in the glutes and opening the hip
Yoga Pose # 3: Tree
Start with Mountain pose
Before raising the leg shift the weight across into the leg that will remain straight
Brace the core to aid with balance
Yoga Pose # 4: Downward Facing Dog
Spread your fingers wide and make sure your palms are planted firmly and evenly on the ground
Slide the shoulders away from the ears
Keep you pelvic floor and core muscles squeezed tightly
If you can’t straighten your legs with feet planted on the ground, tiptoes and bent knees are fine
Yoga Pose # 5: Cat
Squeeze your glutes tightly tucking your pelvis in and squeezing in the stomach.
Let your head hang loosely down
You should feel a stretch along the top of your shoulders
Yoga Pose # 6: Warrior
Keep your shoulders down – and arms straight
Make sure the bent knee does not pass over the toes
Yoga Pose # 7: Cow
Feel a spread and spaciousness across your shoulders and chest
Exhale heavily and extend the stretch
Try to fit the yoga poses in twice a week and enjoy your new found flexibility. Good luck!
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