1. Yoga Poses Beginners

2. Mountain Pose- Tadasana Type of pose: Standing Benefits: Improves posture, strengthens thighs Instructions: 1. Come to stand with the big toes touching. 2. Lift up all your toes and let them fan out, then drop them down creating a wide solid base. You can separate your heels slightly if your ankles are knocking together uncomfortably. 3. Bring your weight evenly onto all four corners of both feet. 4. Let the feet and the calves root down into the floor. 5. Engage the quadriceps and draw them upward, causing your knee caps to rise. 6. Rotate both thighs inward, creating a widening of the sit bones, and tuck your tailbone in between the sit bones.sit bones 7. Tone the belly, drawing it in slightly. 8. Widen the collar bones and make sure the shoulders are parallel to the pelvis. 9. The neck is long, the crown of the head rises toward the ceiling, and the shoulder blades slide down the back. It may seem like you are just standing there, but bringing the body into alignment is hard work. The alignment for Tadasana carries in to many of the standing and inverted poses. Beginners: Practice the pose with your back to the wall so you can feel the alignment.

3. Raised Arm Pose- Urdhva Hastasana Type of pose: Standing Benefits: Improves posture, strengthens thighs, opens shoulders Instructions: 1. From Tadasana, bring your arms out to the side and up.Tadasana 2. Press the palms together, keep the arms straight and take the gaze up toward your thumbs. 3. Slide the shoulder blades down the back. 4. Maintain your alignment. Beginners: Practice the pose with your back to the wall so you can feel the alignment. Place a block between the thighs, squeeze it and roll it slightly backward to feel the engagement and rotation of the thighs.

4. Standing Forward Bend- Uttanasana Type of pose: Forward bend Benefits: Stretches and lengthens the hamstrings Instructions: 1. From Raised Arm Pose, swan dive the arms out to the side while folding forward. 2. Make sure the fold come from the hips, deepening the hip creases, and not from the back. 3. Bring the fingertips in line with the toes and press the palms flat. 4. Engage the quadriceps muscles of the thighs. The more you use your quads, the more the hamstrings (the muscles on the back of the thighs) will open up. 5. Bring your weight a little bit forward into the balls of your feet so that your hips stay over the ankles. 6. Let your head hang. Beginners: Bend the knees if you need to in order to bring the palms flat. Then work on straightening the legs.

5. High Lunge Inhale - Release your interlaced hands as you swing the arms up next to your ears and step the right foot back to the end of your mat coming into a High Lunge.

6. Downward Facing Dog Type of pose: Standing, Mild Inversion, Resting Benefits: Stretches and strengthens the whole body. Downward facing dog is done many times during most yoga classes. It is a transitional pose, a resting pose and a great strengthener in its own right. It may be the first yoga pose you encounter as you begin a yoga practice. Downward dog is so prevalent, even people who have never done yoga have probably heard of it. Instructions: 1. Come to your hands and knees with the wrists underneath the shoulders and the knees underneath the hips. 2. Curl the toes under and push back raising the hips and straightening the legs. 3. Spread the fingers and ground down from the forearms into the fingertips. 4. Outwardly rotate the upper arms broadening the collarbones. 5. Let the head hang, move the shoulder blades away from the ears towards the hips. 6. Engage the quadriceps strongly to take the weight off the arms, making this a resting pose. 7. Rotate the thighs inward, keep the tail high and sink your heels towards the floor. 8. Check that the distance between your hands and feet is correct by coming forward to a plank position. The distance between the hands and feet should be the same in these two poses. Do not step the feet toward the hands in Down Dog in order the get the heels to the floor. This will happen eventually as the muscles lengthen.plankheels to the floor Beginners: Try bending your knees, coming up onto the balls of your feet, bringing the belly to rest on the thighs and the sit bones up high. Then sink your heels, straightening the legs keeping the high upward rotation of the sit bones. Also try bending the arms slightly out to the side, drawing the chest towards the thighs. Then restraighten the arms.sit bones

7. Plank Position Type of pose: Arm Balance Benefits: Strengthens the arms and spine. Preparation for more challenging arm balances. Instructions: 1. From Downward Facing Dog, draw the torso forward until the shoulders are over the wrists and the whole body is in one straight line. This is very similar to the position you would take if you were about to do a push up.Downward Facing Dog 2. Press the forearms and hands firmly down, do not let your chest sink, press back through the heels. 3. Keep the neck in line with the spine and broaden the shoulder blades. Beginners: Move back and forth between Down Dog and Plank making sure the distance between your hands and feet does not change.

8. Warrior I Type of pose: Standing, slight backbend Benefits: Strengthens the legs, opens the chest and shoulders Instructions: 1. From Downward Facing Dog, bring the right foot forward next to the right hand.Downward Facing Dog 2. Pivot on the ball of the left foot and drop the left heel on to the floor with the toes turned out about 45 degrees from the heel. 3. Bend the right knee directly over the right ankle, so that a right angle is formed by the calf and thigh. 4. Draw the right hip back and the left hip forward, so that the hips are squared to the front. 5. Bring the arms out to the side and up. 6. Make your palms touch, and gaze up toward the thumbs, making a slight backbend. 7. Slide the shoulder blades down the back. Repeat on the left side. Beginners: Step the left foot out toward the left side of the mat a bit to allow more room for the hips to square. Place your hands on your hip bones, so you can feel whether they are squared forward. Draw the right hip back and the left hip forward. When you bring your arms up, keep them shoulder’s distance apart -- that is more comfortable.

9. Warrior II Type of pose: Standing Benefits: Strengthen the legs and arms, opens the chest and shoulders, tones the abdomen. Instructions: 1. From Warrior I, open the arms out, bringing the right arm in front of you and the left arm behind.Warrior I 2. Open the left hip back. 3. Keep the right knee bent and the right thigh parallel to the floor. 4. Draw the belly in slightly. 5. Find the shoulders directly over the hips. 6. Reach out through both finger tips. 7. The gaze is forward over the right hand. 8. Engage the triceps to support the arms, and the quadriceps to support the legs. Repeat on the left side. Beginners: Make sure the right knee stays tracked over the middle toe of the right foot. Don’t allow the knee to drift over to the left.

10. Reverse Warrior Also Known As: Crescent Pose Type of Pose: Standing, Backbending Benefits: Strengthens the legs, improves the flexibility of the spine Instructions: 1. From Warrior II, bring the rear hand down the back of the rear leg.Warrior II 2. Bring the front arm up next to your ear. 3. Keeping the front knee bent and directly over the ankle, reach the rear hand down as you come in to a backbend. 4. Bring your gaze up to the front fingertips.

11. Warrior III Type of Pose: Standing, Balancing Benefits: Strengthens the legs and abdomen, improves balance Instructions: 1. From Warrior I, bring the hands onto your hips.Warrior I 2. Bring your weight forward into your front foot as you gently kick up your back leg. 3. At the same time, bring the torso forward until it is parallel to the floor. 4. Keep the neck relaxed, as if it's the natural extension of the spine. 5. Keep both hips pointing toward the floor as you bring the back leg in line with your body. 6. Flex the raised foot and keep the muscles of the raised leg actively engaged. 7. Bring the arms back along your sides. 8. Repeat on the other side. Beginners: Do the pose at the wall. You can either face the wall and bring your arms outstretched in front of you with your hands on the wall or turn around and bring the lifted back foot onto the wall.

12. Extended Side Angle Pose Type of pose: Standing Benefits: Strengthens and stretches the legs, groins, hamstrings. Opens the chest and shoulders. 1. From Downward Facing Dog, bring the right foot forward next to the right hand.Downward Facing Dog 2. Drop the left heel down to the floor. 3. Bend the right knee so the calf and thigh are at a right angle with the thigh parallel to the floor. 4. Bring the right hand inside or outside the right foot and the left arm up toward the ceiling, opening the chest and stacking the left shoulder on top of the right. 5. Bring the gaze up to the right hand. To keep the body in balance, repeat on the left side. Beginners: If the right hand does not comfortably reach the floor, take a block under the hand so that you can still open the chest.

13. Triangle Pose Type of pose: Standing Benefits: Strengthen the legs, stretches the groins, hamstrings, hips, opens the chest and shoulders. Can help relieve back pain.Can help relieve back pain Instructions: 1. From Warrior II, straighten your front leg (the left leg in this case).Warrior II 2. Begin the reach the left arm forward, drawing the left thigh upwards and tucking the hip at you come forward. 3. Drop the left hand down onto your shin or ankle, or if you are more open, onto the floor inside or outside the left foot. Do whichever one feels most comfortable. 4. The right shoulder stacks on top of the left one as you open the chest reaching the right fingertips upwards while keeping the right shoulder rooted in the socket. 5. Take your gaze up toward the right fingertips. 6. Draw the left thigh muscle upwards, deepening the left hip crease. 7. Stack the right hip on top of the left. 8. Repeat on the right side Beginners: Bring the right hand higher up on your leg or use a block on the floor to rest your hand on. It is more important to keep the right leg straight than to bring the right hand to the floor. Do not rest the hand directly on the knee, though, as this creates too much pressure on the knee. block

14. Pyramid Yoga Pose Type of pose: Standing, forward bend Benefits: Stretches and strengthens the legs, especially the hamstrings. 1. From Downward Facing Dog bring the right foot forward next to the right hand. 2. Straighten the right leg as you step the left foot forward so that the feet are about three feet apart. The left foot is facing forward with sole flat on the floor. 3. Bring the body to an upright position and make sure the hips are squared towards the front of the mat. 4. Lengthen the spine on an inhale. 5. On the next exhale, deepen the right hip crease as you come into a forward bend bringing the hands to the floor or onto blocks if they don’t reach the floor. 6. On each inhale, lengthen the spine. On each exhale, take the forward bend a little deeper. To keep the body in balance, repeat on the left side. Beginners: Use blocks under the hands so you can keep the legs straight and work on the forward bend.

15. Half Moon Pose Type of pose: Standing, balancing Benefits: Strengthen the ankles and thighs, improves balance Instructions: 1. From Warrior II soften the right knee and bring the left hand to your hip. 2. Bring the right hand to the floor about a foot in front of the right foot with the fingertips on the floor. 3. Begin to straighten the right leg while simultaneously kicking up the left leg. 4. Open the hips, stacking the left hip on top of the right hip. 5. Bring the left leg straight and parallel to the floor, flexing the left foot with the toes facing forward. 6. When you feel balanced on the right leg, reach the left arm up toward the ceiling, opening the chest and making a straight line with the right and left arms. 7. Finally, bring the gaze up toward the left fingertips 8. Repeat on the left side Beginners: Take a block underneath the right hand. Do the pose near a wall and bring the left foot to the wall when you kick up the left leg.

16. Tree Pose Type of pose: Balancing, standing Benefits: Strengthens legs, improves balance. Instructions: 1. Come to stand in Mountain Pose. 2. Feel your weight equally on all four corners of both feet. 3. Begin to shift the weight over to the right foot, lifting the left foot off the floor. 4. Bend the left knee, bringing the sole of the left foot high onto the inner right thigh. 5. Press the foot into the thigh and the thigh back into the foot. 6. Try not to let the right hip jut out. Keep both hips squared towards the front. 7. Focus on something that doesn't move to help you keep your balance. 8. Repeat the move while standing on the left foot. Beginners: If you cannot bring the left foot high inside the right thigh, bring it lower on the right leg -- but be careful to avoid placing the left foot directly on the right knee. Use the wall for balance if necessary.

17. Awkward Chair Pose Type of pose: Standing Benefits: Strengthens the thighs Instructions: 1. From Mountain Pose – Tadasana bend the knees until the thighs are almost parallel to the floor.Mountain Pose – Tadasana 2. Keep the butt low. 3. Bring the arms up towards the ceiling. 4. Bring a slight back bend into the upper back. 5. Hold 5-10 breaths Beginners: Work on bring the thighs closer and closer to parallel to the floor.