12 Basic Yoga Poses: 4 Tips for Yoga Beginners

Yoga is a physical and philosophical practice that originated in ancient India over 5,000 years ago. Traditional yoga is rooted in spirituality and meditation, with many different iterations and religious schools worldwide. In Western culture, yoga primarily refers to three main types of practices (Hatha, Iyengar, or Vinyasa) that incorporate a flow of asanas (postures) for physical exercise, where all poses occur within the linear space of a yoga mat. These styles feature a mix of breathing exercises, poses, and meditation that can help effectively reduce stress. Maintaining a regular yoga practice has been shown to build strength, improve flexibility and bolster cardiovascular health.

While yoga may appear calming and straightforward, it can be a vigorous physical experience. Here are a few tips to keep in mind at the start of any yoga practice:

1. 1. Focus on your journey. Yoga is about the journey to understanding your own body, not the bendy, effortless flow of the yogi next to you. Yoga is about becoming more in tune with your body and mind, so focus on your interiority rather than keep pace with others around you or judge yourself based on their progress.
2. 2. Modify when necessary. You can modify a pose if it is too challenging for your body. Some yoga teachers offer modifications and stages of particularly tricky poses. You can also return to child’s pose to catch your breath if a particular pose is too arduous.
3. 3. Look and listen. Getting familiar with class cues when publically practicing yoga becomes easier the longer you do it. Flows like sun salutations (the initial round or warm-up portion of the practice) tend to remain the same from class-to-class. Some yoga instructors will call out a pose in both the original Sanskrit and English versions; if you feel lost, pause and watch the pose in its entirety.
4. 4. Be patient. The key to getting the hang of new yoga poses is to avoid pushing yourself too far, too fast, which can discourage your journey. Keep practicing poses, and they will eventually become more comfortable as your flexibility improves.

Many yoga poses are designed to flow with the breath, moving between asanas with the inhale and sinking into the pose with the exhale. Try to hold each of these poses for at least 3–5 deep breaths each.

1. 1. Child’s pose (balasana). Child’s pose is a common starting place for yoga practices, offering yogis an opportunity to rest and connect with the breath. To perform child’s pose, start by sitting back on your heels with your toes together. Widen your knees as much as is comfortable (usually about a hip’s width apart). On the exhale, bring your torso between your knees, stretching your arms down and out in front of you. Rest your forehead on the mat, and lengthen the tailbone away from your lower back. Turn your palms up to feel a greater stretch in the shoulder blades.
   
2. 2. Cobra (bhujanghasana). Begin by lying facedown, with your hands on either side of your ribs. Press the tops of your toes into the floor, then roll your shoulders back and down, drawing your head and upper body up by slowly straightening your arms. The quads and glutes should stay active, pressing down into the floor. This pose aims to open the chest and, when done correctly, can potentially alleviate lower back pain.
3. 3. Upward-facing dog (urdhva mukha svanasana). The upward-facing dog is similar in look and feel to cobra pose but uses the strength of the feet, glutes, and core to keep the legs from touching the floor as you arch your shoulders and back. Keep your upper body open, with your neck elongated and your hands corkscrewing strongly into the ground.
4. 4. Downward-facing dog (adho mukha svanasana). Downward dog is a straightforward and effective inversion pose. Starting from all fours or upward-facing dog, ground the hands and press the fingers into the floor. Then, use your legs to press the tailbone back and up (almost passing through a child’s pose), creating an inverted V with your body. Gently drive your heels towards the floor, keeping a slight bend in the knee while flattening your back as much as possible. This pose activates the calf muscles, hamstrings, and shoulders, which continue to draw down the back.
5. 5. Low plank (chaturanga dandasana). From a high plank pose (kumbhakasana) with the feet together and hands shoulder-width apart, lower your body in one straight line, keeping the arms tight to the body and elbows bent at a 90-degree angle. Hold for three breaths, then push up into an upward-facing dog, sending the upper body through the hands, before returning to the downward dog.
6. 6. Crescent lunge (utthita ashwa sanchalanasana). Beginning either from a standing position or downward dog, step the right foot forward into a deep lunge. Keep the ball of your back foot on the floor and your back leg straight. Reach up with both arms, keeping your hips square and facing forward and your front quad as parallel to the floor as possible. Bring the arms back to the floor on either side of the foot, and repeat on the other side.
7. 7. Warrior I (virabhadrasana I). This progression of lunges begins from a downward dog pose. To move into Warrior I, draw the right foot forward between the hands and bend the knee. Spin the left foot out 45 degrees, and place your left heel down: the right heel should be pointing directly at your left arch. Press up, and take your hands towards the sky, with your hips facing forward.
8. 8. Warrior II (virabhadrasana II). To move into Warrior II, open your arms, rotating them slightly, so your right arm reaches straight ahead, and the left reaches behind, both parallel to the floor. Breathe into the right quad. Windmill the arms back down to the starting lunge position, and return to the downward dog before repeating on the left.
9. 9. Triangle (trikonasana). From Warrior II, straighten your front leg, and reach your front arm down, bringing it to rest on your shin, a block, or the ground while rotating the torso open and reaching your back arm towards the sky.
   
10. 10. Mountain pose (tadasana). Stand as straight as you can, bring your feet together, and focus on driving all of your weight into the ground. Reach your fingertips towards the floor, and breathe.
11. 11. Tree pose (vrksasana). To progress to tree pose, bend your left knee and rest your left foot on your right inner thigh. Bring your hands to prayer pose or stretch them above your head, and hold. Repeat on the right side.
12. 12. Seated forward fold (paschimottanasana). Sit, then extend both legs out in front of you, with your hands tented on either side of your hips. Slowly walk your hands towards your toes, drawing the upper body deeper into a forward bend with each exhale. Bend your knees slightly if needed; if it’s accessible, loop your index and middle fingers around each big toe for a deeper stretch down your legs.
    

Proper form and technique are essential to ensure the safety and effectiveness of a yoga practice. If you have a previous or pre-existing health condition, consult your physician before practicing yoga. Yoga poses may be modified based on your individual needs.

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