Yoga for Beginners

Nowadays, yoga is one of many forms of relaxation and exercise as well as providing an improved well-being and physical comfort and relief from premature aging, chronic disease, pain and elevates level of life force or chi. Yoga has been viewed as a form of spiritual practice which requires discipline in hard to achieve postures. As a beginner, there are ways on how to enjoy the benefits of the yoga positions. First, the need to stay focused which has an impact on your health care system in the emotional, physical and mental level. Second, you need to be gentle with yourself through relaxing because you might experience hamstrings that could prevent you from performing certain poses. Third, you need to smile as this release anti-stress hormones. Fourth, you need to listen to your body as it sends a message to the brain through the central nervous system. Fifth, breathing is considered the core of the yoga practice, as you practice yoga, it allows your breath to be full, steady and gentle.

Mental Health Benefits of Yoga Positions for Beginners

• Helps you cope with emotional stress. You can feel revitalized and energized once you practice yoga and help you cope with emotional turmoil, pain and sadness.
• Strengthens the heart. When you practice yoga, it opens the heart when you are alone, sad and unhappy. Yoga practice makes your negative thoughts transform into positive energy easily. Further, backbend posture awakens the heart.
• Stimulates the throat center. Yoga poses particularly the shoulder stand help stimulate the throat which means that you are to ask for help, express the pain and voice differences.
• Bringing intuitive knowledge. Philosophy and exercises of yoga will give you a deeper meaning and it gains a sense of balance and harmony which exist around you.

Health Benefits of Basic Yoga Positions

• Posture Improvement- The different poses of yoga and its regular practice makes you aware of your posture.
• Increases flexibility in ligaments and joints- The practice of yoga increases the range movement of joints and muscles. An example for this is the triangle pose which opens and stretches the whole side of the body especially on the area of the hip.
• Good circulation- Yoga exercises particularly the Sun Salutation boosts energy and blood to flow smoothly in the body.
• Soothes the nerves- Regular practice of yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system that boosts to relax, slow down and rest.
• Better Breathing- Breathing exercises of yoga encourage proper breathing habits.

These days, there are many people who are considering yoga and as a beginner you need to practice basic yoga positions for beginner to avoid injuries in the muscles. With the mental and health benefits of yoga, it is not surprising that many people will get involved in the said exercise.

Basic yoga positions for beginners

1. Accomplished Pose- This pose is easy to complete, you just need sit on the yoga mat or on the floor while crossing your legs, palms facing the ceiling while practicing the correct breathing techniques.
2. Bound Angle Yoga Pose- You will do this pose while transitioning from the Accomplished Pose wherein you are stretching the spine for this pose and recommended that you will place your tongue to the roof of your mouth while closing the eyes and focusing on the area of the third eye of the forehead.
3. Cobra Pose- This is considered as the most popular pose for beginners which focus on the flexibility of the spine and helps relieve back pain. You need to lie flat on the stomach while keeping your legs together and then you lift your chest up while keeping the palms of your hand on the floor flat. You position should look like you are doing push-up, however, your arms should be parallel to your heart and should not extended in the front of your head. Your spine and neck must be aligned then you need to inhale and exhale.
4. Mountain Pose- From the word itself, it means that you need to spread your weight over your feet evenly and then you need to activate your quadriceps that will pull up your knee caps. Next, you need to your hips inward as this pushes the sit bones wider and your tail bone fall. Then, you need to draw your belly and bring the shoulders parallel to the pelvis. You also need to move the top of your head towards the ceiling while moving the shoulder blades down and back. The benefit of this yoga exercise is to improve strengthen the thighs and enhance posture.

I hope the above information will help you realize the benefits of yoga as well as the basic pose that you can do as a beginner. You need to remember that yoga as a form of exercise greatly needs self-discipline and determination to achieve your desired results.

Also read about mental health benefits for kids in Health Benefits of Yoga for Children article, which will have more information about this subject.