Basic Yoga Strength Positions for the Beginner
Saturday, October 20th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
Starting out in the world of yoga can often be a frightening place to be! The media surrounds you with images of people bent double in strange (seemingly agonizing) positions. You feel that you can’t even begin to have a go, let alone master the discipline. However, this is simple not true and the great benefit of practising yoga is that it will meet you on your own terms, whatever your level of fitness. Gradually, your expertise increases, you feel more confident and you find that you can stretch your body to much greater lengths. You become more supple, more flexible and, through yoga strength positions, you become far stronger too.
Why the warm-up is important
Because you will be working your muscles and joints hard with your yoga positions, it is very important that you warm up your body before beginning your full workout. You can do this through a series of warm-up yoga positions that will vary depending on the type of yoga workout that you will be focusing on. It is also a good idea to do a few finishing positions at the end of your workout to allow your body to relax properly after the strenuous work that it has just completed. Even more than some other types of exercise programs, a good warm-up and cool down time will help you to get the most out of your workout and prevent possible injury from occurring.
Beginning Yoga: the positions
1. The Savasana, or the death pose. This position is done flat on your back, and will go through the process of tightening and relaxing every muscle in your body. It is important during this yoga position not to let your mind wander, but instead to focus on a single, positive image.
2. Another yoga position that beginners will find beneficial is the Udhitta Padasana, which adds raising the legs to the Savasana position. While lying flat on your back with your arms out to the side, you will raise one leg until it is at a right angle with the rest of your body. Hold the stretch, then lower the leg and repeat with your other leg. Finish this position by raising both legs at once.
3. Another popular beginners yoga strength position is the Dog and Cat. This yoga position is done on your hands and knees, and consists of arching your back gently down as you raise your tailbone and pelvis up. Follow this position with an arch upward in your spine, as you tilt your pelvis down. These two different positions should gently flow into one another, giving your back and abdomen a good workout. This beginning yoga position is a great one for increasing flexibility in your spine, but make sure that you are doing the position gently and that you are not overextending your back as you stretch.
There’s no doubt that yoga has many, many benefits. Gradually, with perseverance, you will feel stronger, less stressed and have a more flexible body. Don’t worry that you might be a beginner - start now and you won’t be for long!
