Whether you’re a seasoned yogi or just starting your practice, yoga poses will help strengthen and tone your body. Yoga also challenges your balance and improves your proprioception.
Find relief from what ails you, from lower back pain to hamstrings, with these simple yoga poses. Plus, discover sequences and step-by-step pose instruction to enhance your wellness.
Downward-Facing Dog Modified
To maintain an upward lift in the hips and a lengthening of the spine, a strong upper body is required. This pose also requires a degree of shoulder strength and mobility. To encourage external rotation of the shoulders, make sure the eyes of your elbows point toward opposite corners of the mat.
Beginners may struggle with the distance between their feet in downward dog, which should be hip-distance apart. Placing a rolled blanket under the heels can help with this.
Warrior II Modified
Warrior II is a powerful pose that strengthens the legs and arms. It also opens the chest, stretches the groin and strengthens the core. It can be challenging for some beginners, especially those who struggle with balance.
One mistake many beginners make is collapsing the arch of the back foot. This weakens the foot and compromises the stability of the pose. A common solution is to use blocks beneath the feet. The other mistake that beginners often make is letting their front knee fall inward.
Warrior III Modified
Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III) is a powerful balancing posture that trains the core, legs and arms. It improves hip, leg and core strength and balance and increases body awareness.
Practicing yoga poses like warrior III strengthens the small muscles in your ankles and feet that improve balance and prevent injury. One study found that practicing yoga improved balance in people over 65.
Many students focus on the height of their lifted back leg in this pose, but it’s just as important to lengthen your torso.
Tree Pose Modified
Tree Pose is a great balance pose that also strengthens your legs, hips, and core. It encourages good posture by stretching the hip flexors and helps you become more balanced on and off the yoga mat.
If you struggle to find stability in Tree Pose, try closing your eyes. This eliminates visual cues and forces you to rely on your internal awareness and muscles, which can help enhance your balance. It’s important to stay within your comfort zone and never push yourself past the point of discomfort or pain.
Warrior IV Modified
Introduced in TN 1922, the Warrior IV is an offensive-oriented Gear that specializes in electronic warfare. While it has not seen any major battles yet, this cutting-edge Gear is well equipped to take on rovers and polar forces. It carries an RP-109 light rocket pod for assault missions and comes with its own augmented ECM pod to take down hostile jamming stations.
From Tadasana, fold forward at the hips, avoiding arching the back. Reach the arms forwards and up, and step the back right leg forwards. Repeat with the other side.
Cobra Pose Modified
Cobra is a chest-opening yoga pose that strengthens and tones the back muscles. It is one of the most mild backbends, which makes it suitable for beginners or those with back pain.
Start by lying on the floor with your forehead touching the mat and your hands planted right under your shoulders. You can also try “baby” cobra if you can’t lift your chest as high. Baby cobra still provides a gentle stretch for the spine and chest.
Extended Triangle Pose Modified
Another of Kirra’s favorites, extended triangle (Utthita Trikonasana) is a great posture to practice for balance and body awareness. It’s also a good stretch for the neck and spine.
The mistake of compressing the neck in this pose is common and can lead to strain. To prevent this, try to keep the torso parallel with the floor and the ears in line with the shoulders.
To support the lower arm, place a block under the front foot. If tilting the head up puts pressure on the neck, try looking straight ahead or downward at the mat instead.