There are over a thousand yoga poses. Unless you aim to become a yoga instructor, chances are you will not find the time to do more than a few in a day—and that’s alright.
Start with this 4 essential Yoga poses, and as you build up stamina, gain strength flexibility and strength, add more poses to your practice, time permitting.
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose)
Adho Mukha Svanasana is a rejuvenating pose resembling a dog stretching with forelegs and head downwards and hind legs up.
How to do it
1. Sit on the heels on the yoga mat
2. Stretching your arms forward and extending the spine, bring the head on the mat or as close to it as possible
3. Go to the table pose
4. Pushing with your hands, straighten your legs
5. Push your pelvic bone upwards and heels towards the floor
6. Hang your head freely. If possible bring the crown of the head on to the floor
Note: If your hands are feeling heavy, you are not doing the pose correctly. The weight of the body, when Adho Mukha Svanasana is done correctly, is not felt on the hands, but on the legs.
Phalakasana (Plank Pose)
Most know of Phalakasana as workout of the core muscles, particularly the ab muscles. However, it is also very good for the triceps, the wrists and hands, the spinal muscles, the buttocks, and the neck muscles.
How to do it
1. Go to Adho Mukho Svanasana
2. Inhaling and , bring your torso forward, so much so that the arms and torso should be perpendicular to the floor and your shoulders directly over your wrists
3. Keeping the hips in line with the top of the head and shoulders, your collarbones away from your sternum, your front thighs pushed upwards, and the neck stretched forward and relaxed, look down towards the floor
Note: Your top thighs should be firmly pushed upwards but not the tailbone. Jutting out the tailbone puts undue pressure on the lumbar spine. Beginners, if they find it difficult to bear their full body weight on the heels and the hands, can bring their knee down. However, ensure that the upper leg is perpendicular to the knee.
Ardha Navasana (Half Boat Pose)
Ardha Navasana works on the liver, gall bladder, and spleen. It is also a great pose strengthening the back. That’s why, as you regularly do this pose, you find you are able to hold it for longer duration.
How to do it
1. Sit on the yoga mat and then stretch the legs outwards. Legs must be straight (just like as they are in Dandasana)
2. Place hands on the side of the hip joints
3. Exhale strongly, recline the trunk back, and simultaneously lift your arms and legs up (forming a V-shape)
Note: You should not hold your breath in this pose although the tendency is to just that. When you hold your breath, the effect of this pose is more on the abdomen than on the abdominal organs.
Utkatasana (Chair Pose)
Utkatasana is beneficial for the legs, removes stiffness in the shoulders, and tones the back and the abdominal organs.
How to do it
1. Stand in Tadasana. Raise your both arms over the head and join the palms and fingers.
2. Exhaling, bend your knees and lower the trunk until your thighs are parallel, or almost parallel if you are a beginner, to the floor.
3. Take care not to stoop forward (It will put undue pressure on the knees and can cause pain in the back.). Keep your chest as back as possible.
4. Don’t stay in the pose for more than a few seconds. Thirty seconds is good enough.
Note: While this pose is good for those with knee pain and its regular practice will provide relief from it, initially it may worsen knee pain. You can keep your knee safe by double-folding your yoga mat and rolling it firmly to make a roll. Place the rolled-up yoga mat between your knees as you go down.
Yoga works on both the mind and body. If you are a beginner, start with a few essential yoga poses that work on the core muscles.