A Basic Guide to Beginning Yoga—Plus 9 Great Poses to Try

Learn the basics of yoga, including the best beginner poses and what to bring to your first class.

Yoga may seem intimidating at first glance with its unique poses, vocabulary, and props. And while it may be a totally different type of movement than you’re used to doing at the gym (like running on the treadmill or lifting weights), don’t let the unfamiliarity of yoga keep you from trying it out. There are certainly advanced levels and forms of yoga for the well-initiated, but there are also extremely accessible, foundational options for those just beginning yoga. And the healthy benefits of yoga should make trying this exercise practice all the more inviting.

Related: 6 Simple Yoga Stretches That Melt Away Muscle Tension

What Is Yoga?

“Yoga is a multifaceted practice that, in addition to physical poses, supports mental well-being, self-discovery, and your connection to [yourself],” says Amanda Sacks, LCSW, E-RYT 500, therapist, founder of We All Feel, which offers online and in-person community events, support groups, and retreats.

Anyone beginning yoga for the first time is in fact joining an ancient practice with thousands of years of history. The word “yoga” means “to unite” in Sanskrit, and according to The American Journal of Psychiatry, the origins of yoga can be traced back between 2,500 and 5,000 years, with depictions of yoga poses uncovered at ancient archaeological sites from the Indus Valley. Sage Patanjali, in India, is credited as the first to record in Sanskrit writing the principles and practices of yoga, describing its eight components, including, for example, several elements incorporated into modernized practices in U.S.: “controlled postures,” “mental restraint,” “conscious breathing,” and “meditation.”

Yoga Health Benefits

As a form of low-impact exercise that utilizes a combination of intentional movement, isometric pose holding, deep breathing, and mind-body awareness, yoga provides a number of excellent physical and mental health benefits. A growing body of research reveals yoga’s ability to help reduce stress, support mental health, and boost cognition; support and improve flexibility, muscular strength, balance, and cardiovascular health; support healthy weight maintenance; and generally improve one’s overall quality of life. Yoga can also help decrease lower back pain and discomfort for those struggling with chronic lower back pain.

Yoga can help address stress reduction and nervous system relief from several angles. The physical exercise exerted during yoga plays a role in stress reduction, due to the general mental health and stress-busting benefits of physical activity. But another is the emphasis on nervous-system-activating breathing patterns, internal reflection, and emotion regulation. “Breathwork practice to calm your nervous system or help you boost your energy are also core pieces of a yoga practice that extend beyond the physical poses” Sacks confirms.

Types of Yoga

There are many different forms of yoga that serve different purposes and accomplish different effects. “I love that there are so many variations of yoga, because it provides you an opportunity to connect with what’s most meaningful for you,” Sacks says. “I find it helpful to try a few styles of yoga and a mix of teachers to see who and what practices resonate with you.”

Some types of yoga accentuate strength, power, and energy (vinyasa yoga and flow yoga), and focus heavily on the movement itself from pose to pose and the strength needed to hold postures. Other forms of yoga move at a slower pace and emphasize stretching (hatha yoga) or deep relaxation and stress relief (yin yoga, restorative yoga). There's also hot yoga, like Bikram yoga, that utilizes heat and humidity to intensify the exercise and benefits.

There are many other different yoga forms and practices, but these generally tend to be the most basic and commonly found yoga types in popular, Westernized yoga offerings. You can also find a variety of easily accessible, beginner yoga options through in-person classes, online videos, streaming services, apps and books. As with any new workout, Sacks recommends that everyone “listen to your body and ask questions.”

Related: 8 Ways to Find Free Yoga Classes (Online or In Person)

Yoga Equipment Needed for Beginners

Beginning a regular yoga practice takes a little bit of investment on your end, but they’re necessary and worth it. If you’re headed to your first in-person yoga class, here’s what you’ll likely need:

• Yoga mat. This isn’t just for show—a yoga mat is an important, practical piece of equipment for your practice. “A yoga mat will keep your feet from sliding [during] standing poses, protect your knees while kneeling, and protect your body from dirty floors while you’re lying down,” explains Rev. Sharon Shanthi Behl, MA, LPC, E-RYT500, C-IAYT, I.Y.M, a yoga teacher certified in Integrative Yoga Therapy. You can typically rent a yoga mat at the studio for a small fee or invest in your own and bring it with you when you go.

• Comfortable, easy-fitting clothing. Since yoga involves bending and stretching—and oftentimes sweating—wear clothing that moves with you and that isn’t binding or constricting. Ideally, Behl recommends, “no zipper or buttons to poke you,” but no set uniform is necessary—you’ll want to wear what you find most comfortable.

• Small towel or blanket. Some classes provide yoga blocks onsite to assist in stretching and pose modification, but a folded blanket or towel can provide similarly helpful support when you’re first starting out. “A wool or cotton blanket can be folded to make you more comfortable and cover you up in the final relaxation pose,” Behl adds.
  

Related: What to Expect When Taking a Pilates Class for the First Time, According to Instructors

The Best Beginner Yoga Poses

Becoming proficient in yoga and its many form and offerings takes consistent practice and patience. There are nuances to this movement method that you'll learn and improve upon over time. “Attending at least a few in-person classes with an experienced teacher will ensure that someone is there to help you find the best alignment of each pose for your unique body," Behl says. “A really good teacher can help you adapt each pose for where you are in that moment.”

Get started on your own at home with these beginning yoga poses,—also called Asanas in Sanskrit. Move within a comfortable range of motion for your own body and focus being attuned to your natural breath. Start by trying to hold each posture for three to five breath cycles (where one inhale and one exhale is one breath cycle).

1. Cat/Cow Pose

• Start on your hands and knees: “Wrists below shoulders and knees below hips,” says Jess Matthews, DBH, FACLM, E-RYT500, associate professor of integrative wellness at Point Loma Nazarene University in California and author of Stretching to Stay Young.

• Inhale while “softening the belly toward the floor and gently arching the back, tilting tailbone and chin toward the ceiling,” Matthews says.

• Exhale while “gently rounding the spine, drawing chin toward chest,” she says.

2. Downward Facing Dog

• Start on your hands and knees, then extend your legs behind you into a high “plank position to ensure your hands and feet are the proper distance apart,” Sacks says.

• Inhale, then as you exhale raise your hips to the ceiling, keeping arms and legs straight. Your body should roughly create a triangle with the floor.

• Let your heels drop toward the floor and tuck your chin into your chest.

• It is OK to bend your knees to reduce the stretch in your hamstrings and avoid overtaxing the lower back.

3. Seated Twist

• Start seated on the floor with both legs out straight.

• Lift up your right foot, cross it over your left leg, and place it on the outside of your left thigh.

• Inhale, place your right hand behind your right hip.

• Exhale, “gently rotate your torso to the right,” Matthews says, hugging your knee with your left arm.

• Release, and repeat with your left foot on the outside of your right thigh.

4. Cross-Legged Seated Pose

Place your right ankle on top of your left thigh and your left ankle on top of your right thigh. (If this is too difficult, sit in a butterfly position with your feet overlapping in front of you.)

Inhale and exhale, staying in this pose while gently resting your hands in your lap for “an easy beginner pose,” Behl recommends.

5. Child’s Pose

• Start on your hands and knees.

• Inhale, then on the exhale, send your hips back onto your heels, dropping your chest toward your thighs and head toward the floor.

• Let your knees angle outward in a wider angle, Matthews recommends, with your big toes touching, and “release your torso between your thighs.”

• Reach both arms straight out toward the top of your mat and tuck your chin to your chest.

6. Tree Pose

• Start in a standing position. Inhale, and place the bottom of your right foot against the inside of your left calf.

• Exhale, keeping your right knee out wide to the side. Your arms can be in any comfortable position.

• Release and repeat on the opposite side, placing your left foot against your right calf.

7. Mountain Pose

Sacks loves this pose because the alignment it requires and teaches is also important in many other poses.

• Inhale and stand up tall with your feet hip width apart.

• Exhale and raise both arms straight up overhead, keep your shoulders down and back.

• Stack your knees “above the ankles, hips above the knees, shoulders above hips, and head above shoulders,” Sacks says.

8. Chair Pose

• Stand with your feet and knees together.

• Inhale, and then exhale while bending your knees and hips, lowering your body down as if to sit in a chair (just about six inches to start with).

• Raise both arms up as far as is comfortable for you.

9. Crescent Lunge Pose

• Start in a standing position. Inhale and step your right foot back about two feet behind you.

• Exhale and bend both knees, keeping your right heel lifted. Raise both arms up overhead.

• Release, bringing your right foot back to center.

• Repeat, stepping back into a lunge with your left foot.
  

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