Learn Tips For Doing Fun And Easy Poses: Yoga For Beginners

By Thaya Kareeson

Yoga is well-known to improve health, relieve stress, improve coordination, balance and overall fitness, both mental and physical. Yoga, if you know nothing about it, can be intimidating. You have visions of turning yourself into a human pretzel - you who has not done anything remotely pretzel-like since you were five years old! Put your mind at rest. In yoga for beginners there is no need for you to do any pose beyond your ability. Here are a few beginner's poses to get you started.

The first pose is called Easy Yoga Pose. You often see people meditating in this position. To begin, sit on your bottom with your legs crossed in front of you (knees bent). Put one foot towards your groin and the other on the floor. Sit up nice and tall, stretching your spine. Relax your shoulders. This should feel quite comfortable.

To do the Tree Pose, start from a standing position. Your hands should be in a prayer pose, fingertips pointing up, at chest level. Hips should be parallel to the floor as much as possible. Slowly bring your right foot up the inside of your left leg until it rests on your inner left thigh (or as high as you can get it without pain). Remain balancing for a time, then repeat with your other leg and foot. Hold on to the wall or a chair if you need extra support.

Adho Mukha Svansana, otherwise known as Downward-Facing Dog, will stretch your entire body. Start by getting down on all fours, hands and knees aligned with your shoulders and hips. Your back is flat. Next, bring your hands back towards your feet, raising your backside up towards the ceiling and straightening out your legs. You will look like a triangle (inverted). Hang your head, take your shoulders out of your ears and relax them (beginners tend to scrunch their shoulders towards their ears). Do not invert yourself farther than you can go without pain.

A very restful pose is the Child's Pose. Start from the Downward-Facing Dog position on your hands and knees. Then, slowly bring your bottom down towards your calves, folding your body up so that your stomach is near the floor. Hands can be out in front of you or at your sides.

Cat/Cow Pose is another stretching pose. Get onto your hands and knees as if you were going to do the Downward-Facing Dog Pose. Your toes should be bent under and pointing towards your head. Shoulders should be relaxed. Drop your belly low towards the ground. It is not necessary to touch your belly to the ground. Keep your hands and knees aligned with your shoulders and hips. Next, arch your back towards the ceiling getting a good stretch. Come back to the beginning.

From a standing position with your hands in prayer position and your feet apart, go slowly into a squatting position. Your elbows will be at the inside of your knees slightly pressing outward. Keep your shoulders relaxed. Spine should be straight, no hunching. Remain like this for five breaths.

You have just gone through five different poses of yoga for beginners. No doubt, you feel stretched out and relaxed. Continue practicing yoga poses every day and you will see yourself getting more flexible and stronger over time. You may even decide to join other yoga practitioners at a local yoga class. - 30514

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