Yoga poses for beginners

Table of Contents

Yoga poses for beginners

  1. Child’s pose

  2. Happy baby

  3. Cat-Cow

  4. Cobra

  5. Chair

 

Child's pose

The child’s pose helps you reconnect with your breath and gently releases your lower back and hips. Muscles involved in a child's pose are lats, lower back, and hips. 

 

For doing Child’s pose

  1. Get on all fours on your mat.

  2. Spread your knees wide and position your big toes so that they’re touching.

  3. Let your stomach fall between your thighs and allow your forehead to drop toward the floor.

  4. Extend your arms in front of your body with your palms on the floor.

  5. Breathe deeply in and out here.

  6. Hold the pose for 60 seconds and then move to the next pose.

 

Happy Baby

Stretch lower back and hips more directly with this position. The muscles involved in this exercise are the hips, inner thighs, and lower back. 

 

For doing Happy baby pose

  1. Lie on your back on your mat.

  2. Bend your knees and bring them to your stomach, gripping the outsides of your feet. Flex your heels and ankles.

  3. Breathe here, focusing on keeping your ankles directly above your knees while pushing against your hands with your feet.

  4. Hold the pose for 60 seconds and then move to the next pose.

 

Cat-Cow

Cat-Cow movement stretches your spines, engages the core, and opens the chest. Muscles involved in the Cat-Cow position are erector spinae, serratus anterior, and abdominals.

 

For doing Cat-Cow pose

  1. Get on all fours on your mat with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.

  2. Engage your abs, exhale, and push your spine up toward the ceiling.

  3. Allow your head to fall toward your chest. Hold here for 10 seconds.

  4. Inhale and let your spine fall back down, allowing your stomach to fall toward the ground while your head comes up and back. Hold here for 10 seconds.

  5. Hold the pose for 60 seconds and then move to the next pose.

 

Cobra

The Cobra pose stretches your shoulders, chest, and abs and in addition, also strengthens your arms and butt. Muscles involved in the Cobra pose are lats, triceps, abdominals, glutes, and hamstrings. 

 

For doing Cobra pose 

  1. Lie on your mat on your stomach with your legs shoulder-width apart and the tops of your feet on the mat.

  2. Place your hands underneath your shoulders with your elbows tucked into your body.

  3. Inhale and begin to straighten your arms, pushing through the tops of your feet.

  4. Lift your chest off the floor and push your shoulders back.

  5. Stop straightening your arms as soon as your pelvis loses contact with the ground — breath in and out here for up to 30 seconds.

  6. Hold the pose for 60 seconds and then move to the next pose.

 

Chair

The chair pose strengthens your legs, back, and shoulders. Muscles involved in the Chair pose are abdominals, erector spinae, quads, hamstrings, gluteus medius, delts, and triceps. 

 

For doing Chair pose

  1. Stand with your feet together and inhale, extending your arms directly overhead.

  2. Exhale, begin to sit back into your hips, and bend your knees. Stop when your thighs are parallel to the ground.

  3. Roll your shoulders down and back and press your tailbone toward the ground. Breathe here.

  4. Hold this pose for 60 seconds.

  5. This is the last pose if you are a beginner.