Yoga Poses for Newbies

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SPEAKER
Yoga can benefit anybody at any fitness level and at any age. Here's a great way to start.

As you come to your yoga mat, put your hands on the floor and take table pose. You can start to warm up here. Opening up the spine, this is called cats breath. Rounding the spine. Inhale, open the spine. Exhale, rounding the spine.

Move through a few of these. Very easy. Opening the back while stretching the spine. This pose is said to relieve headaches. To help relieve tension in the neck and back.

And slowly lift up with your knees bent into an easy down dog. Keeping your knees bent if you feel any tightness in the back of the legs. Your heels can certainly stay off the mat. Now, lengthen your fingers. You can slowly release the heels.

Soften your neck, lifting your tailbone to the sky. Downward dog really lengthens and strengthens your back muscles. Slowly walk your feet forward, coming into a standing forward fold. Bending the knees to take the strain off the lower back. Just kind of stretch your wrists and your hands. Just let your upper body dangle here.

And easy, come up to standing pose. Take a few breaths in standing mountain pose. Roll the spine back down, folding into you're standing forward fold.

Putting the hands on the floor and just walking the feet back into plank pose. This is also called push-up pose. Press into the hands. The hands are in line with the shoulders.

Drop the knees to the mat, and the chest, and then slide forward into cobra. Lifting the chest and the heart off the ground, press into the tops of your feet, and roll your shoulders back away from your ears.

Press back onto the knees. And lifting the tailbone, lengthening your legs and arms into down dog. Take a few deep breaths in down dog. Walk your feet forward. You can always keep a small bend in the knees as you bring the torso up to standing.

We're going to move into warrior one pose. So the right leg is forward, draw your hips forward. Your left leg is back, and the foot's about at a 40 degree angle. Reach your arms by your side, and then your arms up to the sky. The palms turn inward, and your arms are generally in line with the ears.

Moving from warrior one into warrior two, arms come out to the side. The arms are in line with your legs, and your hips are open here. You can adjust your feet in any way. Left hand on the back leg, right arm to the sky. This is peaceful warrior.

The warrior poses strengthen the shoulders, the arms, the legs, the ankles, and the back, helping to open the hips and the chest. Take the right arm forward onto the right leg. Lengthen your torso. Let the left arm reach up for side angle pose.

Helping to improve your focus and your balance and your stability here. Just windmill the hands down. Step the back leg forward. Inhale. Come up to standing.

And we're going to do the warrior on the other side, so the left leg is forward, right leg is back. First, just have your hips forward for warrior one. Bending the front knee, keeping it in line with the ankle. Reach your arms to the sky. Warrior one.

Staying here for three to five breaths. When you're ready, open to warrior two. You can scooch your back leg back a little bit. Left arm forward, you turn and look over the left fingertips. Right arm behind, in line with the legs.

Now, try to center your spine. Peaceful warrior. Right arm on the back leg, anywhere on the back leg. Left arm to the sky. Take a breath, really opening up the left lung here.

Now, creating length on the left side of the body, take all of that length forward, as you just move through warrior two into side angle. Left arm, just kind of resting the forearm on that front leg. Reach your arm overhead. Side angle. The arm is close to the face. Just soften the neck.

Start to look at your front toes. Frame up your foot. Step the leg back. Just press into a down dog. Take a few relaxing breaths in down dog.

Easily drop toward the knees. Come into child's pose. Lengthen the arms. Forehead is on the mat. You can bring the arms back by your side.

And just completely relax here. Slowing down the mind. Being still. Letting the hands find your feet, and just take a hold of the instep of your feet.

You can stay here in child's pose, or you can lift up. Lift your head off the mat, and just gently, gently place the top of your head on the mat. This is rabbit pose. It opens up the mid-back. Very easy. Most of the weight is on the feet and the legs. Now, just come to sitting on your heels.

Bring the legs out in front of you. Stretch your legs out long. Flex your feet. Move into the ankles, a couple of circles.

Take a hold of the right leg, bending the knee, and just rocking the leg. Rock the baby. This is really moving into the deep hip socket. There's several ways to do it. If you want, you can take the arm underneath or circle the leg. Just keep the leg bent. Give it a little rock.

Move over to the left leg. Just take a hold of the foot. Give a gentle rock to the hip, going as deeply as you'd liked.

You always want to have a sense of ease while practicing yoga. You don't want to ever push into pain. You want to be relaxed.

And starting to lie down. This is the resting pose, corpse pose, where you completely rest your body. Focus on the breath. Inhale long and exhale long. Just let each breath take you deeper into a state of relaxation.