Want to start your yoga journey? Here are few yoga poses you can try as a beginner.
Try these yoga poses daily for optimal overall health
HIGHLIGHTS
- Practicing yoga daily can boost your overall health
- You can start your yoga journey with simple poses
- International yoga day is observed on 21 June
Needless to say, the world swears by the benefits of Yoga and we all wish to make yoga a regular part of our lives. But for a beginner, yoga and its poses can be quite overwhelming. With so many asanas, flows, and sequences available, it is but natural for anyone to struggle when wanted to start. Relax and take a few deep breaths as help is at hand! Here is a list of few simple yoga poses you all can perform on daily basis.
Yoga Day 2021: Perform these asanas daily for optimal health
1. Tadasana (Palm Tree Pose)
1. Come to a standing position with little gap between the feet.
2. Engage your quadriceps (the muscles on the front of your thighs) by drawing them up.
3. Interlock the fingers and turn it upwards, palms facing the sky.
4. Inhale and stretch the arms, shoulders & chest upwards, without arching the back.
5. Now raise the heels as high as you can, bringing the weight on the toes.
6. Lengthen the body towards the sky.
7. Gaze at a point in front (little above the head level) to maintain the balance.
8. Take 5 - 10 normal breaths while you hold yourself in this position.
9. Gently exhale & bring the heels down.
10. Repeat few times.
Benefits:
This pose stretches the entire body and decompresses the spine. It is one of the best poses to correct body posture and help with good alignment. It also creates a sense of physical and mental balance. When practised with closed eyes, this pose can increase balance exponentially.
Tadasana can help improve mental health and body posture
Photo Credit: iStock
2. Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)
1. Stand straight, open your feet wide apart, about 3 to 4 feet wide.
2. Turn the right foot out at 90 degrees and left foot in a little towards right.
3. The centre of the right heel should be in line with the centre of the arch of the left foot.
4. Bring the arms up, parallel to the ground, keeping the elbows straight.
5. Inhale and extend your right hand forward, keeping your right hip tucked.
6. Exhale lower your right hand down towards your shin or ankle. If the body allows, bring your right hand to the floor on the inside or on the right foot.
7. Keep the left shoulder stacked on top of the right & open the chest towards the sky.
8. Reach out with the left hand toward the sky, keeping the left shoulder rooted in its socket.
9. Turn your head to gaze toward your left fingertips.
10. Keep equal weight on both the legs throughout.
11. Keep the head in line with the lower leg.
12. Soften your right knee slightly (keep a microbend in the knee) to prevent hyperextension.
13. Stay for at least 5-7 breaths & inhale come back to the centre. Repeat on the other side.
Benefits:
Triangle pose gives the best lateral stretch to the body and also strengthens the legs. It stretches and opens the hips, groins, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, and chest. It improves digestion, increases lung capacity, and relieves back pain and sciatica. Also brings balance and stability.
Also read: International Yoga Day 2021: Yoga Poses You Can Perform With Your Family At Home
3. Marjaryasana Bitilasana (Cat and Cow Pose)
1. Start by placing your hands directly under shoulders and knees under the hips, coming into a table top position.
2. Keep the knees and feet hip-distance apart, toes pointing out.
3. Keep equal weight on all 4 - hands & knees.
4. To begin with, keep spine neutral.
5. Gently inhale, lift the head up and drop the spine down arching your back
6. Keep elbows straight and don't shrug the shoulders. This is Cow Pose.
7. Now exhale drop the head down & round the spine up towards the ceiling.
8. Pull the navel in as you lift the spine up. This is Cat Pose.
9. Stay in each pose for 5-7 breaths and alternate between the two poses.
10. After few rounds, come back to the neutral position.
Benefits:
The caw and cow stretch is extremely beneficial to relieve back pain. Cow stretch activates the tailbone, the spine's root and strengthens the spine overall. The cat stretches release the tension of neck and upper back. It increases the flexibility of the spine & stimulates the internal organs as well.
Cat-cow pose includes two yoga asanas
Photo Credit: iStock
4. Dandayamana Bharmanasana (Sun Bird Pose)
1. Start by placing your hands directly under shoulders and knees under the hips, coming into a table top position.
2. Keep the knees and feet hip-distance apart, toes pointing out.
3. Keep equal weight on all limbs.
4. To begin with, keep spine neutral & pull the navel in.
5. Inhale, extend the right arm forward, left leg back and make them parallel to the ground.
6. Keep the elbows straight and do not sink into the mat.
7. Keep the knee of the left leg straight as well.
8. Neck should be in line with the spine.
9. Body weight should be equally distributed between the left hand and right knee (the limbs on the floor).
10. Stay for 5-7 breaths and exhale come down to the starting position.
11. Repeat other side.
Benefits:
This pose helps in improving balance, focus, and memory. It also improves the body mind coordination. It stretches the spine, ensuring good posture as well as strengthening the core. This pose acts as a preparation for many advance balancing postures.
Also read: International Yoga Day 2021: Try These Yoga Poses To Improve Your Posture
5. Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana (Upward Facing Dog)
1. Lie on your belly with feet slightly apart.
2. Place the palms beside the lowest rib by bending the elbows.
3. As you inhale, press your palms down, straighten the arms & slowly lift the torso, hips and knees off the mat.
4. The entire weight of the body should be resting on the palms & top of the feet.
5. Engage your glutes & legs active and engaged, this will take the pressure off the lower back (that you might experience).
6. The wrists should be in line with the shoulders.
7. Push the shoulders down & back, towards the spine to create maximum space between the shoulders & ears.
8. Lift the chest up, look straight ahead or tilt the head backwards, without straining the neck.
9. Stay in this pose for 5-7 breaths.
10. As you exhale, slowly lower the body down.
Benefits:
This strong backbend helps stretch the abdominals, chest, & shoulders while strengthening the arms. It also helps reset good posture and encourage proper alignment. Also, beneficial in reducing lower back pain.
Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana is beneficial for your spine health
Photo Credit: iStock
6. Adho Mukha Shvanasana (Upward Facing Dog)
1. Start by placing your hands directly under shoulders and knees under the hips, coming into a table top position.
2. Move your palms forward & check if the distance between your hands and feet is correct by coming forward to a plank position. The gap is same in these 2 poses.
3. Now curl your toes under & exhale push the hips back, straightening the legs.
4. Keep pushing the ground away with your hands, pushing the hips further back & up.
5. Keep your neck relaxed between the arms.
6. Engage your quadriceps (pulling the knee cap up) to take the burden of your body's weight off the arms.
7. Glance back at your feet to make sure they are hip-width apart and parallel.
8. Keep pushing the heels down stretching the calf muscles.
9. If your lower back feels rounded or if you are unable to touch the heels to the mat, bend your knees & send the tail bone straight back and up.
10. Pull the navel in to engage the core & push the hips higher.
11. Stay in the pose for 5-7 breaths.
12. With each exhalation, root down firmly through your hands & with each inhalation, send your hips back & up even more.
Benefits:
This pose is the best pose to strengthen as well as stretch the entire body. It prepares you for all inversion poses as the head goes down. It's very effective to reduce headaches / migraines. It also releases stress and anxiety as the blood circulation gets activated in the entire body.
Also read: International Yoga Day 2021: The Benefits Of Deep Breathing And Meditation For Diabetics
Try these yoga asanas and get your yoga journey started.
(Shynee Narang is a Yoga instructor and Founder of YooYogic, Decathlon Partner)
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