Many times, we think that the practice of yoga is for people with developed physical condition or extraordinary flexibility; On the contrary, yoga is to achieve flexibility in the body, strengthen the muscles and calm the mind. First recommendation: open mind and attention to your body
In this path, there are placements that will make you believe that the practice of yoga is difficult or impossible in your body, but the truth is that there are also basic and gentle postures of less complexity, especially for the joints and without forcing the muscles to give you some discomfort, but that achieve important benefits integrally. Join an instructor and consult your doctor before starting a routine if you are pregnant, have injuries, overweight or recent surgeries.
Second recommendation: pre-warm-up.
When the yoga routine begins, psychophysical gymnastics or previous warm-up is important, as it allows you to prepare your joints and muscles, in addition to awakening your body gradually, especially your respiratory system. Always start with the axis and center of your body: the spine. Make up and down movements on your neck, left and right by turning your head side by side and then sagging it to one side and another. These are the three possibilities of movement in this part of the body, and they are the same ones you must achieve, slow and breathing, throughout the spine.
After preparing the spine, you can continue with movements in the wrists, elbows, shoulders, ankles, knees and groin; Always remember deep and conscious breathing, inhaling at your best capacity and exhaling slowly through your nose.
Once the body is ready, you can continue with the following basic yoga postures:
Yoga Exercises for Beginners
1. Mountain Posture
Standing, lengthen your body by spreading your legs apart like the width of your hip, aligning your knees and ankles; Relax your shoulders and let go of your arms. You must feel your head looking for the sky, lengthening your whole body and spine. Inhale deeply and exhale slowly through your nose. This is the posture of the Mountain or its Sanskrit name Tadasana. Focus your attention on the spine, breathing, and the equal distribution of your body on both feet. Inhale deeply and raise your arms to your sides, aligning your wrists and elbows with your shoulders. These should be relaxed, make sure they do not close your neck, but are low. Breathe there for a moment and then raise your hands, to the same separation of the shoulders, facing the sky. Breathe.
2. Posture of the Stork
After about 20 seconds at each placement, lower your arms slowly down the sides followed by your torso. Your sight is on your knees and arms off the hook: this is the posture of the Stork or Utanasana. Rest there for a moment breathing deeply and exhaling slowly through your nose. Let all the posterior muscles in your body lengthen. Inhale and rise to the top by raising arms from the sides to the posture of the Mountain, slowly lower your body while you exhale releasing the air and the weight of your torso in a controlled way towards the posture of the Stork. Repeat these breaths with movements, until you achieve a constant and fluid rhythm, slow and calming, revitalizing and energizing…
3. Front folding posture
Rest for a moment in the posture of the stork. Start climbing from your head in front, slowly lengthening your entire back, until your head is at the height of your pelvis. While your legs are elongated, don’t pick up the weight on your knees; You must give it a minimum flexion to protect the joint: the knee is released and the muscles are activated more, because these are the ones that support the weight. The hands can be on your legs but without supporting the weight on them. This is the Urdhva Utanasana position. Look straight ahead and inhale, exhale slowly as you return to the Stork’s posture. Take a deep breath when climbing, activating and strengthening the lower back or lumbar, exhale while releasing tension in the body and stretching the posterior muscles. Repeat until the movement is smooth and slow. Visualize the movement in the spine, and pay attention to the muscles that strengthen and those that become more flexible. Enjoy activation in the body.
4. Child Posture
Slowly lower to the floor, support your knees and look for the position of the Child or Balasana. In it you can rest your back, neck and shoulders. Let the weight of your body be released to the Earth, and thereby achieve rest. Closing my eyes allows me to hear more what is inside than what happens outside: breathing, heartbeat, etc .
5. Diamond Posture
Its name in Sanskrit is Vayrasana, and it is the placement in which you sit on your heels with your knees bent. Here you can breathe deeply, feel your chest expanding and emptying, the lungs achieving their greatest capacity, and relaxation in the shoulders, arms, face. Breathe and raise your nose to a higher diagonal, exhale and hang your head and torso. Repeat it so many times until you achieve a steady rhythm, stimulating the organs in the abdominal cavity and making your spine more flexible, developing respiratory capacity and achieving internal tranquility.
6. Cane Posture
Sit up lengthening your legs forward and your torso and head up. The toes point towards the sky and release the shoulders. This is the posture of the Cane or Dandasana, and it retains a greater amount of blood in the abdominal area, strengthens the lower and middle back, in addition to the abdomen and legs; postural corrector and of great help for the awareness of the breathing, in addition to relieving low back pain. Raise your hands at shoulder height, achieving a single line. Take a moment there.
7. Back Extension Posture
Now raise your arms to the sky, shoulder-width apart, making sure they are down and not around your neck. Inhale deeply, and as you exhale, release the weight from your torso and head forward, relaxing shoulders, neck and back. Breathe, and relax when exhaling, free yourself to rest. This is the posture of the Back Extension or Pascimottanasana. Go up inhaling, and exhale while you go down controlled.
8. Medium Torsion Posture
Raise your torso again, flex your right leg toward your abdomen, and hold it with your left hand, slowly turn your torso to the right and hold your elongated spine while breathing. This is known as Posture of the Half Torsion or Ardamatsyendrasana. Slowly return to the center while breathing and do the same on the left side: flex your left leg and hold it with your right hand while turning your torso to the left side. Take a moment there and slowly return to the center. This placement lubricates the spaces between the vertebrae, making it more flexible and stimulating the sympathetic system. It strengthens the abdomen and back, in addition to the stimulus in the abdominal organs.
9. Butterfly Posture
Look for the posture of the Butterfly or Baddhakonasana, sitting and joining the two soles of your feet, lengthening your spine and breathing deeply and consciously. Breathe and exhale slowly through your nose. You can breathe up, and release the exhalation as you slowly lower your torso and head forward. End your routine with this exercise, and you will feel your body more aligned, active, relaxed and with more attention to your breathing and posture. Your mind calms down and you achieve tranquility accompanied by complete energization. It is a routine of a few minutes, which you can repeat daily and in a matter of days you will see the change in your way of sitting, walking, breathing and above all, the ease of finding calm.
