The ancient practice of yoga has been there for thousands of years with limitless health benefits. Studies have confirmed that practising even the simplest yoga stretches helps in reducing anxiety and increasing cognitive performance. No matter what your yoga level is, these are perfect yoga stretches for beginners to start their yoga journey.
Yoga improves flexibility and helps with fighting depression. Not only for the expert yogis but also a layman can include yoga practice in their daily life. In case you are wondering how to start yoga, read below to have a look at a few basic yoga poses anyone can practice.
Best Yoga Stretches for Beginners
1. Sukhasana
It is the easiest yoga pose for beginners. Sit cross-legged and place your hands on your knees. Keep the palms facing up. The key point is to keep the back straight for the whole time. But, keep in mind that it should not be too stiff. Being in a comfortable position is the secret if you want to hold the yoga pose for a long time frame.
The pose helps you to be mindful of your body and surrounding. Focusing on the breath will keep you in touch with your higher self. Also, it makes your back flexible and releases stress. Hence, it is one of the easiest and best yoga stretches for beginners.
2. Tree Pose
To begin with, stand with a few inches of gap between your feet. Join your hands to form a prayer position and raise over your head. Raise your left leg with your hands in the air and place the foot on the inner thigh of your right leg. Hold it for a few breaths and repeat the same movement with another leg also.
Tree pose improves your overall sense of balance. Moreover, it strengthens the ligaments and tendons of the feet. Thus, it is one of the greatest yoga stretches for beginners to improve their overall balance.
3. Child’s Pose
Start with resting your hips on your thighs and joining the big toes. Breathe in and lean forward with extended arms such that your head touches the ground. Keep in mind that your legs should always be in contact with the ground.
The pose helps with releasing fatigue and tension from the thigh muscles. The extended posture help with elongation, decompression, and better flexibility of the spine. Also, it strengthens the legs and back muscles. It is one of the best yoga stretches for beginners to help with back pain issues.
4. Pigeon Pose
Start with getting on your all fours. Move your right knee forward and place it between your hands. Move your right leg forward just like you do in a lunge. But instead, on placing your foot straight on the ground, tilt it and place the calve to the ground. Your right foot should be touching the groin.
Before changing your legs, push a little on the left leg for better calf stretching. The pose helps with hip mobility, hamstrings stretch, and back flexibility. Thus, it a one of the best yoga stretches for beginners to open your tight hip muscles.
5. Seated Forward Bend
Sit on the ground with legs straight in front of you and keep your back straight. Now lean forward by bending them back and try to either touch your toes with your hands or touch your head on your knees. At first, it might be difficult to touch either of both.
The pose increases the flexibility of the back, hamstrings, and calves. It is one of the most basic yoga poses for beginners that improve the spine’s natural curve.
The above-mentioned are a few of the many basic yoga stretches for beginners that you can practice to start your yoga journey.
With the clarity of thoughts and a clear vision in life, you flow seamlessly when you incorporate yoga practice into your life. With calmness engulfing you, you live a blissful and serene life.
Though the aforementioned yoga stretches for beginners can be practised with ease, if you want to get the best out of your yoga experience, here are a few tips worth considering for you.
Things to Consider Before Practicing Yoga Stretches for Beginners
- It is easy to practice basic yoga stretches for beginners. But learning about the benefits and core technicalities of these stretches from an expert yoga teacher can bring a difference to your overall yoga experience.
- Don’t push your body beyond its limits. For instance, some yoga stretches are suggested to avoid practising in certain health conditions. So, keep in mind to practice only those yoga stretches for beginners that can benefit your body and mind.
- Don’t compare! You may find many people around you having years of yoga experience. For some – practising yoga stretches can be a trend, but for many – it is a way to find inner. So, listen to your heart and progress in the practice of yoga the way you want.
- Beginners are advised not to eat two hours before practising yoga stretches. Apart from that, make sure to avoid having alcohol or caffeine before doing yoga.
- Be comfortable when it comes to clothing. While practising yoga stretches for beginners, you need to stretch your body in various directions. And if you do not wear loose and comfortable clothing while doing yoga practice, it would be hard for you to bend your body completely into a specific yoga pose.
This is all about how to make the most of your yoga experience while keeping the aforesaid points in mind. This way you will be able to reap all the benefits that yoga stretches for beginners have to offer. So, get set to give yourself the gift of regular yoga practice for healthy living.
We wish you have a happy yoga practice experience!
Benefits of Yoga Stretches for Starters
Don’t you feel stretching is good before or after your workout session? What if you make stretching an everyday activity of your life? How do you think your body will react? Practicing yoga stretches for beginners answer all your questions in a single go.
Even if you have a sedentary lifestyle, having a flexible body is a must. However, practicing yoga stretches doesn’t provide you with just flexibility, rather ensures you have a strong body as well. If you still feel confused, give a reading to the following benefits that yoga stretches for beginners have for you. Keep reading.
1. Refreshing Flexibility
Stretching involves moving your body parts past their regular range of motion. As a result, muscle ligaments and tendons elongate beyond the usual path, resulting in their tearing. However, when you have rest and proper nutrition, your flexibility improves.
Your spine is in the most compromising situation when you sit with a slouched back, or slacking shoulders. However, when you include flexibility in your routine, you gain proper posture to support your body throughout the day.
2. Athletic Step-up
Athletics require constant flexion and contraction of muscles. Moreover, due to the fast reflexive actions involved, sometimes you might experience cramps or muscle tears. Sports injuries are very common because people don’t do a proper warm-up or a cool down.
Practicing yoga stretches for beginners strengthens the ligaments and tendons, so that, you can work continuously under stressful physical activities. Moreover, the muscle remains more relaxed, and therefore, your overall athletic performance improves.
3. Energy Boost
Muscles burn oxygen as fuel. Thus, having more muscle mass signifies that your muscles can more oxygen to burn, and therefore, you can work longer. However, implementing yoga stretches for beginners in your routine improves the oxygen-carrying capacity of your muscles.
Moreover, it balances your nervous system. You might have noticed that when your muscles are stiff or tight, you require more energy to move them. Therefore, stretching always improves the efficiency of your body.
4. Hormonal Balance
Some people overeat when they are stressed while some become so anxious that they don’t have any desire to eat. In either case, your hormones are controlling your body, and indirectly pushing you off from your routine.
Yoga stretches for beginners help you by removing stress and anxiety from your life. It even produces the ‘feel good’ factor inside of you, balancing your hormones for better living. When you enjoy an internal balance, you enjoy the external environment better.
5. Endurance
Endurance is the capability of your body or muscles to work continuously without feeling tired. When you stretch your muscles, you increase the intensity of them. In turn, your body adapts to more intensity over time, making your body stronger to handle prolonged working standards.
Even though runners have long stamina but that doesn’t mean that they don’t need to stretch. Achilles tendon injury or Sciatica pull are a few common sites that most runners face if they lack flexibility.
6. Better Physical Structure
Yoga stretches for beginners improve bone density, muscle striations, and muscle maturity over time. You don’t have to sacrifice your flexibility even if you are working out for strength. Thus, no matter what your goal is, stretching is always an option to level up your physical dimension.
Stretching further helps with decompressing various complex joints in the body that remain under constant pressure.
Incorporating stretching in your routine thus can improve your physical self. Yoga stretches for beginners can even be practiced if you have any physical health issues. Rehabilitation centers propel the idea of stretching to build new muscle tissues or tendons.
FAQs
Q1) Is 20 minutes of yoga a day enough?
Ans) As a beginner yoga practitioner, 20 minutes can make a lot of difference. What matters is that you have to be consistent. Moreover, a recent study shows that consistently practising yoga can improve your bone health. Thus, 20 minutes is a good starting time.
Q2) Should I stretch before bed?
Ans) Absolutely yes! Stretching before bed removes stress and tension from your muscles. Further, it signals your brain to relax a bit. Hence, the quality of sleep improves when you practice yoga stretches before bed.
Q3) What should I know before starting yoga?
Ans) The most important thing is never to practice yoga on a full stomach. It could lead to various stomach or digestion issues. Moreover, never rush while practising yoga. Also, wear comfortable clothing that allows you to move your body without any restriction.
Q4) Should you do yoga in the morning or night?
Ans) It is recommended that you practice yoga in the morning. The reason is that in the morning, you are an empty stomach. Therefore, your body can work to the full extent. However, if you want to practice with more energy, you can practice yoga at night.
Q5) Can yoga alone tone your body?
Ans) Yes! It can. All you need to take care of is the intensity and volume of your yoga session. If you are a beginner, you can start with the basic yoga poses. Hence, with regular yoga practice, you gain strength, flexibility, and overall mobility.
Q6) Does yoga count as cardio?
Ans) Indeed! There are many forms of yoga that can replace your cardio session. Such yoga forms focus on cardiovascular exercises to improve your endurance and stamina. Therefore, you can completely replace cardio with yoga.
