Yoga Poses 4 Beginners

Yoga is an ancient practice that originated in India. It was used primarily as a way of life by
sages to achieve holistic well-being. In recent years, yoga has become a popular exercise alternative with Hatha Yoga being practiced worldwide.It has numerous benefits.Here are some yoga poses for beginners to reap its benefits.

Mountain pose(Tadasana):

It  is a simple standing posture which is actually the foundation pose for all others.Physically, it offers many benefits by creating a space within the body, catalyzing good co-operation between the internal organs. This can drastically improve respiration as well as digestion and circulation. Mentally, it leaves you fresh, invigorated and motivated to face the day.

• Stand tall with feet together, shoulders relaxed, weight evenly distributed through your soles, arms at sides.
• Inhale deeply and raise your hands overhead, palms facing each other with arms straight. Reach up toward the sky with your fingertips.

Benefits :

•  Enhances your body posture
•  Strengthens knees, thighs as well as ankles
•  Boosts awareness levels within you
•  Increases the strength of the feet
•  Steadies your breathing
•  This pose is also known to provide relief from sciatica
•  Reduces or eliminates the phenomenon of flat feet
•  Boosts strength as well as flexibility throughout the spine
•  Relieves tension, pains, discomforts and stiffness throughout the body
•  Promotes blood circulation throughout your body
•  Encourages and streamlines the process of digestion and elimination
•  Eliminates the tendency towards depression and sadness, making you feel renewed
•  Gradually induces a sense of harmony between your body, mind, soul and spirit
•  Increases energy, stamina, vigor, strength and enthusiasm in your body and mind.

Cautions:

• Headache
• Medical conditions that affect balance
• Insomnia
• Low blood pressure

Downward Dog(Adho Mukha Svanasana):

• Start on all fours with hands directly under shoulders, knees under hips.
• Walk hands a few inches forward and spread fingers wide, pressing palms into mat.
• Curl toes under and slowly press hips toward ceiling, bringing your body into an inverted V, pressing shoulders away from ears. Feet should be hip-width apart, knees slightly bent.
• Hold for 3 full breaths.

Benefits

• Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression
• Energizes the body
• Stretches the shoulders, hamstrings, calves, arches, and hands
• Strengthens the arms and legs
• Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause
• Relieves menstrual discomfort when done with head supported
• Helps prevent osteoporosis
• Improves digestion
• Relieves headache, insomnia, back pain, and fatigue
• Therapeutic for high blood pressure, asthma, flat feet, sciatica, sinusitis

Cautions

• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Diarrhea
• Pregnancy: Do not do this pose late-term.
• High blood pressure or headache: Support your head on a bolster or block, ears level between the arms

Warrior Pose(Virabhadrasana):

• Stand with legs 3 to 4 feet apart, turning right foot out 90 degrees and left foot in slightly.
• Bring your hands to your hips and relax your shoulders, then extend arms out to the sides, palms down.
• Bend right knee 90 degrees, keeping knee over ankle; gaze out over the right hand. Stay for 1 minute.
• Switch sides and repeat.

Benefits

• Stretches the chest and lungs, shoulders and neck, belly, groins (psoas)
• Strengthens the shoulders and arms, and the muscles of the back
• Strengthens and stretches the thighs, calves, and ankle

Cautions

• High blood pressure
• Heart problems
• Students with shoulder problems should keep their raised arms parallel (or slightly wider than parallel) to each other.
• Students with neck problems should keep their head in a neutral position and not look up at the hands.

Tree Pose(Vrksasana ):

This posture replicates the graceful, steady stance of a tree. Unlike most yoga poses, the Tree Pose requires keeping our eyes open in order to maintain body balance.

• Stand with arms at sides.
• Shift weight onto left leg and place sole of right foot inside left thigh, keeping hips facing forward.
• Once balanced, bring hands in front of you in prayer position, palms together.
• On an inhalation, extend arms over shoulders, palms separated and facing each another. Stay for 30 seconds.
• Lower and repeat on opposite side.
• Make it easier: Bring your right foot to the inside of your left ankle, keeping your toes on the floor for balance. As you get stronger and develop better balance, move your foot to the inside of your left calf.

Benefits

• Strengthens thighs, calves, ankles, and spine
• Stretches the groins and inner thighs, chest and shoulders
• Improves sense of balance
• Relieves sciatica and reduces flat feet

 Cautions

• Headache
• Insomnia
• Low blood pressure
• High blood pressure: Don't raise arms overhead

Bridge Pose(setu Bandhasana):

The pose resembles a bridge, hence the name.

Stretches chest and thighs; extends spine

• Lie on floor with knees bent and directly over heels.
• Place arms at sides, palms down. Exhale, then press feet into floor as you lift hips.
• Clasp hands under lower back and press arms down, lifting hips until thighs are parallel to floor, bringing chest toward chin. Hold for 1 minute.
• Make it easier: Place a stack of pillows underneath your tailbone.

Benefits

• Stretches the chest, neck, and spine
• Calms the brain and helps alleviate stress and mild depression
• Stimulates abdominal organs, lungs, and thyroid
• Rejuvenates tired legs
• Improves digestion
• Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause
• Relieves menstrual discomfort when done supported
• Reduces anxiety, fatigue, backache, headache, and insomnia
• Therapeutic for asthma, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and sinusitis

Cautions

Neck injury: avoid this pose unless you are practicing under the supervision of an experienced teacher.

Triangle Pose(Trikonasana):

Unlike most yoga postures, the Triangle Pose requires keeping the eyes open in order to maintain body balance.

• Extend arms out to sides, then bend over your right leg.
• Stand with feet about 3 feet apart, toes on your right foot turned out to 90 degrees, left foot to 45 degrees.
• Allow your right hand to touch the floor or rest on your right leg below or above the knee, and extend the fingertips of your left hand toward the ceiling.
• Turn your gaze toward the ceiling, and hold for 5 breaths.
• Stand and repeat on opposite side.

Benefits:

 Strengthens the legs, knees, ankles, arms, and chest

. Stretches and opens the hips, groins, hamstrings, and calves; shoulders, chest, and spine

. Increases mental and physical equilibrium

. Helps improve digestion

. Reduces anxiety, stress, back pain and sciatica.

Cautions:

Avoid doing this pose if you are suffering from migraine, diarrhea, low or high blood pressure, or neck and back injuries (those with high blood pressure may do this pose but without raising their hand overhead, as this may further raise the blood pressure).

Seated Twist Pose:

Seated twist poses are often referred as the easy poses in yoga. In these poses, a twist is performed in the seated position.

Stretches shoulders, hips, and back; increases circulation; tones abdomen; strengthens obliques

• Sit on the floor with your legs extended.
• Cross right foot over outside of left thigh; bend left knee. Keep right knee pointed toward ceiling.
• Place left elbow to the outside of right knee andright hand on the floor behind you.
• Twist right as far as you can, moving from your abdomen; keep both sides of your butt on the floor. Stay for 1 minute.
• Switch sides and repeat.
• Make it easier: Keep bottom leg straight and place both hands on raised knee. If your lower back rounds forward, sit on a folded blanket.

Benefits:

• Relief in menstrual discomfort in women
• Relief from diarrhea and constipation
• Help in calming the brain and de-stressing
• Stimulation of liver and kidneys
• Stretching of spine and shoulders
• Improvement in digestion
• Strengthening of the groin and muscles of the legs
• Relief from sciatica, lower back pain and neck pain
• Improvement in the health of pregnant women
• Therapeutic effects in various syndromes
• Improvement of the overall posture
• Massage of the internal organs

Cobra Pose(Bhujangasana):

In Sanskrit, “bhujanga” means serpent or snake and “asana” means pose; hence the English, cobra pose. This invigorating backbend was named such because Bhujangasana reflects the posture of a cobra that has its hood raised.

• Lie facedown on the floor with thumbs directly under shoulders, legs extended with the tops of your feet on the floor.
• Tighten your pelvic floor, and tuck hips downward as you squeeze your glutes.
• Press shoulders down and away from ears.
• Push through your thumbs and index fingers as you raise your chest toward the wall in front of you.
• Relax and repeat.

Benefits:

• Strengthens the spine
• Stretches chest and lungs, shoulders, and abdomen
• Firms the buttocks
• Stimulates abdominal organs
• Helps relieve stress and fatigue
• Opens the heart and lungs
• Soothes sciatica
• Therapeutic for asthma
• Traditional texts say that Bhujangasana increases body heat, destroys disease, and awakens kundalini.

Cautions:

• Back injury
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Headache
• Pregnancy

Pigeon Pose(Eka Pada Rajakapotasana):

:Targets the piriformis (a deep gluteal muscle)

• Begin in a full push-up position, palms aligned under shoulders.
• Place left knee on the floor near shoulder with left heel by right hip.
• Lower down to forearms and bring right leg down with the top of the foot on the floor (not shown).
• Keep chest lifted to the wall in front of you, gazing down.
• If you're more flexible, bring chest down to floor and extend arms in front of you.
• Pull navel in toward spine and tighten your pelvic-floor muscles; contract right side of glutes.
• Curl right toes under while pressing ball of foot into the floor, pushing through your heel.
• Bend knee to floor and release; do 5 reps total, then switch sides and repeat.

Benefits:

• Opens your hip flexor muscles (psoas, rectus femoris) and your groin muscles.
• Opens your hip rotator muscles (gluteus medius & minimus).
• May relieve sciatic nerve tension and ease chronic low back pain.
• Advanced version opens your chest and shoulders
• Traditionally thought to control sexual desire, increase circulation to urinary, digestive, and reproductive systems.

Cautions:

• Knee injury, meniscus or ligament injury.
• Sacroiliac joint injury - due to the opposing action of the legs in this pose which may increase strain across the joint.
• History of shoulder dislocation - do not progress to holding the top of the foot behind the back (Advanced b below) and use caution reaching behind you for the foot.

Crow Pose(kakasana):

The crow is a balancing posture which strengthens the shoulders, arms and wrists. One of the most valuable balancing poses, the Crow or Kakasana is in fact relatively easy to achieve, tough it may look advanced.

• Get into downward dog position (palms pressed into mat, feet hip-width apart) and walk feet forward until knees touch your arms.
• Bend your elbows, lift heels off floor, and rest knees against the outside of your upper arms. Keep toes on floor, abs engaged and legs pressed against arms. Hold for 5 to 10 breaths.

Benefits:

• Strengthens the shoulders, arms and wrists
• Improves balance
• Stretches the muscles of the forearms, wrists and fingers
• Especially beneficial for repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, and for people who spend a lot of time on the computer
• Improves mental equilibrium and sense of calm
• Improves concentration

Cautions:

• Do not practice this pose if you have a recent or chronic wrist or shoulder injury, or if you have carpal tunnel syndrome.
•  Women who are pregnant should also avoid this pose. 
• Always work within your own range of limits and abilities. 
• If you have any medical concerns, talk with your doctor before practicing yoga.

Child's Pose(Balasana):

Child's pose or balasana is a bend, which stretches and releases the spine and lower back. You can use this pose as a warm-up pose, a resting pose or a counter pose for a back bend. You should experience your spine lengthening when you drop the weight of your hips to your heels and relax your head to the floor.

• Sit up comfortably on your heels.
• Roll your torso forward, bringing your forehead to rest down in front of you or on mat.
• Lower your chest as close to your knees as you comfortably can, extending your arms in front of you.
• Hold the pose and breathe.

Benefits:

• Gently stretches the hips, thighs, and ankles
• Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and fatigue
• Relieves back and neck pain when done with head and torso supported

Cautions:

• Diarrhea
• Pregnancy
• Knee injury: Avoid Balasana unless you have the supervision of an experienced teacher.

xoxo