10 basic yoga poses for beginners that you can do at home

Yoga is a physical activity with a great number of health benefits, both physical and psychological.

Although classes with an instructor are the best option for developing good technique, if the idea of ​​taking in-person classes is too daunting, you should know that it's possible to practice some basic yoga poses at home and start enjoying their benefits today.

Benefits of doing yoga

You may already be aware of the great power of yoga for your body and mind, but if you weren't quite convinced yet, here are a few more interesting benefits to further persuade you:

• It's an excellent exercise forgaining strength and building new muscle: if you're not someone who enjoys the gym and strength training, yoga can be a very good alternative.
• You will increase your Flexibility: Yoga is the quintessential exercise for developing incredible flexibility. Virtually all of its postures are geared towards this goal. You will improve your balance: This is undoubtedly one of the most overlooked benefits when we think about yoga. However, standing and semi-flexed postures are perfect for working on balance. You will reduce stress and anxiety: Yoga is one of the most complete exercises, as it works not only on a physical level, but also mentally through breathing exercises and the initial and final relaxation postures. Coordination and body awareness are improved: The more complex a posture, the more body awareness and coordination it requires for its correct execution.

  

  Easy Yoga Poses for Beginners

  These are the poses we recommend you do at home to start practicing yoga:

  Meditation Pose: Sukhasana

  Without a doubt, the quintessential posepose of meditation: seated, with legs crossed, hands relaxed on knees, and eyes closed.

  Not only is it a perfect posture for relaxing and taking a few breaths, but it also helps us to stretch the abductorsand improve back posture.

  If your knees are very far from the ground at first, don't worry, you'll improve with time.

  Child's Pose: Balasana

  This is one of the favorite poses for yoga practitioners, especially after a physically demanding pose, as it allows us to relax and release tension in a very comfortable way.

  To perform the pose, place your knees on the yoga mat and sit back on your heels. Then rest your forehead on the floor and you can let your arms rest stretched out in front or behind you. Your buttocks should touch your heels while performing the pose. This is a perfect position to relax the lower back and release tension along the spine. Ideal for people who work in office chairs and spend a lot of time sitting.

  Seated Forward Bend: Paschimottanasana

  With this pose, we'll take a leap in difficulty and begin working on flexibility more thoroughly.

  You've probably done this pose as a stretch after exercising. To do it, simply lie on the floor with your legs extended. Then bend your hips forward with your arms extended and try to reach as far as possible with your hands. If we can't reach our feet, we'll try to grab our ankles.

  

  Sphinx Pose: Salamba Bhujangasana

  This is a much more specific yoga pose. To make sure you're doing it correctly, think of the shape of an Egyptian sphinx.

  To perform this pose, you should lie face down on the mat.Support your elbows at a 90-degree angle, with your upper arms perpendicular to the floor. Then, lift your torso slightly, as if you were a sphinx.

  Your back should be slightly curved backward. In this way, we will stretch the entire front part of our body.

  Cat Pose: Marjaryasana

  Another favorite pose of yogis to stretch the entire length of the back.It is quite simple to perform, as you only need to get on all fours with your knees bent, and arch your back upwards, lowering your gaze towards your navel.

  Cow Pose: Bitilasana

  This is the counter-pose to the previous position. In fact, the cat-cow pose is a very common sequence in yoga routines, and it is used primarily to release tension in the back between the vertebrae.

  This position is quite simple: just curve your back in the opposite direction to the previous pose, forming a U shape and lifting your gaze as high as possible.

  Sun Salutation Pose: Surya Namascarasana

  This is the quintessential pose to begin sun salutations at the start of a yoga practice. The starting position is standing, stretching the torso with the arms overhead and curving the back slightly backward (without pain), with the aim of stretching the back as much as possible. Warrior Pose I: Virabhadrasana I Warrior asanas are very common in yoga routines. This is the first one usually practiced in this specific sequence. One foot should be forward, the knee at a 90-degree angle, and the back leg slightly bent. The arms should be raised toward the sky. Warrior II Pose: Virabhadrasana II In the second warrior pose, we will change the position of the arms: one extends forward, at eye level, and the other extends backward. In this way, we will enter a twisted position perfect for stretching the back.

  Tree Pose: Vrikshasana

  Many yoga poses are often inspired by elements of nature.This is the case with the Tree Pose, an asana that will test our balance.

  To begin this asana, we must stand upright. We will place one foot on the knee and our hands in prayer position in front of our body. We will hold the position for as long as we can.