A yoga routine starts with a series of low-intensity poses that warm up the body. These can include seated meditations and sun salutations.
Start with Child’s Pose, a gentle back and hip stretch. Get down on your mat and slide your knees so they’re touching, then let your stomach fall between your thighs and extend your arms in front of you.
1. Breathing
Yogic breathing (pranayama) techniques enhance physical health and mental clarity. They help reduce stress and anxiety and improve oxygenation of the blood, which helps boost immunity and endurance.
Pranayama includes various breathing exercises that focus on the abdomen and chest. A good beginners yoga for breathing exercise is kapalabhati, also known as skull shining breath, which uses abdominal muscle power to force the air out in short bursts. It reduces the tone of the sympathetic nervous system and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms the body and mind.
Another common yogic breathing exercise is ujjayi, which involves constricting the throat slightly while you breathe, creating an ocean-like sound. Avoid this breathing exercise if you have heart or lung problems or a hernia. Other yoga breathing exercises include sitali, which cools the body, and simhasana, also known as Lion’s Breath.
2. Relaxation
Practicing yoga can help you relax physically and mentally. The poses and breathing techniques stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, or “rest and digest” mode, to reduce stress and anxiety. The physical activity can also ease aches and pains, and promote good sleep habits.
For more intense relaxation, try a slow-paced style of yoga, such as yin yoga, which moves at a slower pace and requires you to hold poses for up to five minutes. If you are new to yoga, seek out a class led by a certified instructor who can provide proper instruction to prevent injuries. A certified trainer can also recommend a yoga DVD or online video that suits your fitness level. Use a bolster or pillow under your knees and head for comfort.
3. Strength
Yoga is a great workout, but it may not be enough to build strength for some people. If you’re a strength trainer, try pairing yoga with your workouts to make sure you get all the benefits of both.
Adding yoga to your strength routine can be as simple as increasing the length of poses. This will increase the number of muscle contractions and strengthen your muscles. For example, holding a side lunge for an extended period of time will strengthen your legs and hips while improving balance.
For more challenging moves, add in yoga postures that focus on specific muscle groups. For example, Chaturanga focuses on arm and shoulder muscles, but Side Plank works on the triceps. These are easy to incorporate into a yoga workout and can help you see better results.
4. Flexibility
Although we see images of ultra-bendy yoga practitioners on social media, you don’t have to be a contortionist to reap the benefits of flexible muscles. Flexibility techniques can be found in many types of yoga classes, where yogis are taught how to safely and incrementally boost flexibility.
Increasing flexibility can help prevent injury as it reduces muscle strain and helps to strengthen weaker muscles. It can also improve balance and posture, as well as increase the range of motion in joints.
A typical yoga class will start with low-intensity stretches, such as the classic cat and cow, or a sun salutation. This helps to warm the body and prepare it for the more energizing movements that will follow. Once the yogi is warmed up, they will begin to work on poses that are more challenging and that require more strength and flexibility.
5. Concentration
Concentration is a vital skill for students to have. Yoga is a great way to practice concentration techniques and improve focus. It is also a great way to reduce stress and anxiety, which can often interfere with learning.
Balance postures like Tree Pose are a big challenge for the brain and require concentration to maintain balance. Eagle Pose is another challenging balancing pose that improves concentration. This posture twists and binds the body, forcing the student to find a mental and visual drishti (a focal point).
This simple, low-impact form of exercise improves flexibility and strength without straining the muscles or joints. In addition, research has shown that yoga can help reduce cardiovascular risk factors. It is a great addition to any fitness regimen!