I love how accessible yoga is. It can be started at any time. And from anywhere. With very little.
To that same affect, you can never be too advanced a practitioner to turn back to the foundational poses. There is a challenge there for everyone.
Try these 7 yoga poses without any props, from your home today.
1. Table Top – Start on hands and knees, with the hands under shoulders and knees under the hips. Spreading fingers wide and untucking the toes. Take a few rounds of Cat/Cow to warm up the spine. Inhale, dropping the belly while lifting the gaze and curling the tailbone up. Exhale, pushing the ground away as you contract the spine crown to tail. Return to neutral table top, engaging the core. Push into the tops of the feet to lift the knees and shins up off the floor. Hold for a breath or two. Then lower down.
2. Cobra – Lay down on the belly. Bring the hands to the sides of the shoulders. Push into the tops of the feet. Inhale, lifting the chin, chest, and palms off the floor. Exhale to lower down. Do this 3 times or so.
3. Modified Side Plank – Push back up to table top. Extend your right foot back. Roll to the inner edge of the right foot. Lean on the left hand and lift the right hand up to the sky. Align right shoulder over the left, and right hip over the left. To challenge yourself further, squeeze into the glutes and try to lift the right foot up to hip height.
4. Standing Leg Lift – Come to stand with feet hip width apart. Lift the left knee up to hip height. Keep the hips even. Using the core, and hip flexor strength to hold here. Keep the gaze steady. Then slowly start to open the knee out to the side, for big rotation in the hip. Bring forward to center. Then place the foot anywhere along the standing leg, with knee opening up for Tree Pose. Repeat on the other leg.
5. Temple Pose – Turn to face the long edge of your mat. Take the feet wide, turning the toes out diagonally. Bend the knees, squeezing them open as you sink the hips. Inhale the arms up, bringing the palms together and exhale them down through center. Do these arm circles 3 or so times.
6. Warrior 2 – Turn the left toes to the top of the mat. Bringing the right foot parallel to the shorter edge of your mat. Bend into the front knee, squeezing it open over the heel. Open out through the arms. Moving with the breath. Inhale to straighten the front leg and bring the hands overhead. Exhale, to bend the knee and lower hands down. Repeat a few times. Turn left toes in and right toes out to repeat on other leg.
7. Bridge – Lower down onto the back, with the knees bent. Have the feet hip width apart, and bring heels in close to the glutes. Roll the shoulders down away from the ears. Squeeze the glutes and press into the heels to start to lift up off the mat. Push the hips up as high as you can. Hug in through the thighs to keep the knees from dropping out. Hold for a few breaths, then lower down inch by inch.
These 7 poses come from a 30 minute Complete Beginner yoga flow on my YouTube channel. Check the full class out below.
Namaste,
Kassandra
