Yoga – 6 essential poses for beginners

Yoga has a wide array of poses and this might feel very intimidating for a beginner as they wonder whether they will be able to grasp all of them. You don’t need to put such pressure on yourself after all you came to the yoga class for relaxation. The idea is to grasp some of the basic poses that will help you ease into more complex poses as you continue advancing in your sessions.

Here are 6 essential yoga poses for beginners that will prove very valuable as you advance your sessions.

The mountain pose

As the name suggests, mountain pose essentially teaches you to form a stable base and this will come in handy when doing all your standing poses. Whereas it may feel just like sanding as you begin doing it, you will soon realize that plenty happens in the background. You will get a better understanding of how to firmly ground your feet while feeling the earth which is below you.

The downward facing dog

The downward facing dog is one of the most widely used poses that help to achieve stretching for your entire body as well as strengthening it. In the beginning, you will hold the pose for short periods but as you advance, you will hold the pose for much longer periods.

The plank

Planks essentially help you learn how to balance your hands as you use the rest of your body to support yourself. When you do it frequently you develop better abdominal strength as you learn how to use your breathing to help you maintain more challenging poses.

The triangle

The triangle is one of the poses you do while on your feet and is mainly used as a stretching exercise for the sides of your waist. It has additional benefits such as strengthening your legs as well as toning your entire body, and it also helps in opening up your lungs.

The tree

The tree is a pose that you do while standing on one foot and it helps you learn how to achieve balance for your body. It’s one of the best poses that teaches focus and clarity of thought as well as good breathing techniques.

The seated forward bend

The seated forward bend is a pose that prepares you to learn how to breathe even as your body is exposed to uncomfortable postures. This pose will additionally help in stretching your hamstrings, as well as your upper and lower back and sides. It’s one of the best poses to help you open up your body. As a word of caution, whenever you attempt this pose and you feel a sharp pain from any part of your body, you must stop immediately.

These are just six out of the over 300 yoga poses so you still have a long journey in front of you. A mastery of these six will however give you better preparation for the others. Just remember, practice, practice and more practice.