POSES OF YOGA FOR A BEGINNERS

                                                                             

DIFFERENT POSES OF YOGA FOR A BEGINNERS

1. Garland Pose

Malasana                                                    

This beautiful squat is one of my all-time favorite poses. Malasana releases the lower back, opens the hips, and turns the practitioner into a cute little nugget. Explore variations and tips on how to make this pose easier or how to go deeper.

Beginner:

It’s common for beginners to struggle with dropping their heels to the ground. Make sure to spin your heels in and toes out, as well as to widen your stance. If it irritates your knees to drop into a full squat, sit on one or more blocks.

Intermediate:

Step up the hip-opening element of this pose by incorporating your arms. Lean forward to wiggle your upper arms to the inside of your legs. Draw your palms together in front of your heart and push your heart into your thumbs. This will naturally encourage external rotation and give you that extra ahhhhmoment.

Advanced:

Full Malasana is traditionally performed with the feet together, knees wide, and the torso in a forward fold with either the arms extending or wrapped behind the heels. You typically see this pose done with feet wider than the hips (which is still my personal favorite to release my back and hips after a long day.

2. Four-Limbed Staff Pose

Chaturanga Dandasana                                 

Chaturanga is one of the most common postures in Vinyasa yoga—but also one of the most abused. Students tend to rush this pose, cheating its alignment, which with repetition can lead to injury. Check out my pointers below to revisit this foundational posture and begin treating it as its own pose instead of a transition.

Beginner:

Many people don’t have the strength and/or body awareness to perform this posture with good alignment. I recommend most students learn this pose with their knees down. Focus on drawing the lower belly up to prevent dumping in the lower back. Keep your elbows in tight to your ribcage and stacked above your wrists.

Intermediate:

Have the eye of the tiger! Gaze forward the entire time to prevent rounding in the upper back (we always want to look down here, look forward!) Draw the shoulder heads back and focus on extending your heart as you lower so the elbows stay over the wrists instead of falling behind the heels of your hands.

Advanced:

Use full breath! People love to fly through this pose. Take a full inhale in Plank and a full exhale to come into Chaturanga. Don’t transition out of it until your exhale is complete. This takes control, awareness, and prevents you from making silly mistakes and moving too quickly.

3. Extended Triangle Pose

Utthita Trikonasana                      

Trikonasana. Such a classic standing pose! We live in a world where standing poses are often ignored, but this one is part of my regular practice come rain or shine. It is a glorious way to release your lower back, strengthen your core,and expand your body (and mind).

Beginner:

Students tend to collapse their lower body trying to get their hand or palm to the ground. Skip that step and place your palm either on a block outside of your shin or on your shin below your knee. This enables you to even out through both sides of your ribcage creating even length in the trunk of your body.

Intermediate:

It’s so easy to get sassy in this pose! Most people stick out their butts (pitch in their lower backs) and puff their ribs. Focus on corseting your ribcage in (wrapping the bones towards your midline) and keeping your lower belly engaged and lifted to create space in your lower back.

Advanced:

The final step is taking both of these tips and looking down. You want to line your torso up with your front leg (most students lean toward the inside). Can you keep both sides of your waist even, ribs in, belly engaged and lower back long as you lean back? Of course, you can! Practice, practice, practice

4. Crescent Pose, aka High Lunge

                                                                             

I can’t imagine a yoga practice without this perfect standing pose. Crescent Lunge my go-to for opening my hips and psoas, encouraging space in my chest, and feeling powerful on my feet.

Beginner:

You’ll see newer students struggling for balance in this pose. Easy fix. Look down. Odds are your feet are too narrow. Make sure your front and back foot are hip-width apart. This will widen the stance and allow you to balance.

Intermediate:

There’s a tendency to lean forward in this pose which is often caused by pitching in your lower back or tightness in the psoas connected to your back leg. Bend your back knee as much as you need to for mobility in your pelvis. Draw the front crest of your pelvis up to neutral (like a bowl full of kombucha that you don’t want to spill) and gently draw your back leg toward straight. It may not fully straighten, but this is a stronger posture.

Advanced:

Try adding the element of a backbend/dropback in your upper body. Follow the rules you’ve read so far and then reach your arms overhead interlacing all the fingers except for your thumb and index. Keep the base of the neck relaxed as you lift your heart up and curl your upper chest. Draw an imaginary line along the ceiling going up and back. Keep the base of your building strong, aka don’t pitch your pelvis

5. Revolved Chair Pose

Parivrtta Utkatasana                                    

I know Chair isn’t the most popular pose in the world, but this is why it’s on the list. It’s a great foundational pose to teach us how to twist safely. If you can learn the mechanics of a twist here, you’ll be safer in more advanced postures.

Beginner:

Look at your knees! You want to keep your lower back even, and the best clue comes from your knees. You want them to stay even, so if you have one popping out, draw it back in! This will neutralize your lower back and keep you safe.

Intermediate:

Draw your palms into Anjali Mudra and press them into each other. Press so much that your torso revolves and your heart lifts up to meet your thumbs. That’s a juicy twist!

Advanced:

Reach your bottom hand down to the outside of your foot and extend the top arm back up. Combine the work of keeping your knees/hips level and using your outer arm to push into your leg to get the beautiful turn in your ches

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