A restorative yoga posture that relaxes the hips, spine and thighs, Child’s Pose can also be helpful in alleviating stress. Start with knees together, big toes touching one another and shoulders in line with hips.
For a more challenging pose, add a block under your back foot to raise it up higher than your hands can reach. This will also challenge your balance and core.
Downward Dog
The most familiar posture for yoga practitioners, the Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) strengthens the shoulders and arms while stretching the wrists, hips, and back body. “It’s an all-rounder,” says yoga teacher and fitness specialist Nahid de Belgeonne.
The pose is often difficult for beginners, who are not accustomed to bearing weight through the hands and arms. To alleviate this, it is advisable to use blocks under the hands.
One of the most common mistakes in Downward Dog is rounding the spine, which can be corrected by externally rotating the upper arms. This will broaden the collarbones and shift the weight from the hands into the hips to lengthen the whole spine from tailbone to neck. Then you can lift the knees off the floor and relax the heels toward the mat.
Upward Facing Dog
Upward facing dog, or Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, is one of the most familiar postures in yoga. It’s often performed alongside its sibling, Downward Facing Dog (adho mukha svanasana), as part of sun salutations and vinyasa sequences.
The posture strengthens the arms, shoulders and wrists and increases flexibility in the back and neck. It also improves posture and counteracts slouching or kyphosis; and it expands the chest, strengthening the diaphragm to enhance breathing capacity.
Unlike Cobra Pose, in which the lower body touches the floor, Upward Facing Dog only requires that the palms press down onto the mat and the legs lift to hover above it. This variation on the basic prone position is an essential posture for all levels of yogis. It also makes a great counterpose to forward-facing poses.
Warrior II
Warrior II builds strength and stability and is a regular part of most yoga flows. For beginners, this pose can be challenging because the back foot has a tendency to collapse at the arch and roll into the inside of the foot. To correct this problem, press down through the outer edge of the back foot for stability and balance weight evenly between both feet.
This posture stretches and strengthens the ankles, hips, groin, and shoulders. It is also an excellent chest opener and can relieve the pressure that settles into the front shoulder from sitting at a desk all day. Practicing this posture regularly is beneficial to improving focus, concentration, and grounding. It also helps build stamina since it is often held for multiple breaths.
Child’s Pose
Child’s pose (Balasana) is a restful posture that helps reduce stress and fatigue in the body. It gently stretches the hips, thighs and ankles while soothing the back muscles and relaxing the neck. The forward bend in this pose opens the chest, enhances breath flow and stimulates the third eye point.
Physically, it can be challenging to hold this posture for long periods of time, especially if the knees or wrists are tight. Using props like a blanket under the head or knees can help with comfort.
If the student finds themselves struggling with the abdominal compression in this pose, suggest widening the knees while keeping the big toes touching so there is more room for the abdomen. This also allows for a deeper stretch of the shoulder and arm muscles.
Lunge
Lunges seem like a basic yoga move, and many students jump right into them before they learn how to do them properly. Without proper form, lunges can encourage bad habits and injuries.
The lunge is a lower body exercise that targets the quads (front of the thighs), hamstrings, hip flexors, and glute muscles. It also challenges the core.
To make a lunge more challenging, try placing your hands on a chair or wall for balance. This variation allows you to stay in the pose longer and target the inner thighs more fully. It also reduces stress on the knee joints. This is a great variation for beginners, as it allows them to get the benefits of lunges without the risk of injury. It also helps teachers prep their students for more advanced poses.