Beginners are often told to establish a home practice which they can commit to and do daily or almost every other day when possible. Morning hours are an amazing time to start to get you in to the habit of a very productive, healthy and positive lifestyle.
By following morning yoga sequence, you will automatically find yourself rolling out your sticky mat, moving with your breath and burning those extra inches and stress.
This guide to morning yoga sequence for beginners is quite a successful routine for getting your energy and your blood flowing focused.
The positions will strengthen and tighten up your body, which will make you feel fit, healthy and flexible all day long, as well as relieve your mind, body, and spirit of stress and exhaustion. Below are the ten easy yoga poses for newbies to begin with.
1) Tadasana
Press your feet firmly to the ground, hip distance apart and even them through all four corners of each foot. Stretch your arms straight towards the floor while drawing your abdominals in and up. Hold for five to eight breaths then repeat.
Tadasana, also commonly known as the Mountain Pose is a great position to start. This pose improves your posture and body awareness, strengthens your legs, thighs and ankles and establishes good alignment.
2) Urdhva Hastasana
From Mountain Pose, lift your arms straight up over your head and bring your palms together firmly. Keep the top of your shoulders from touching your ears and feel your triceps. Like Tadasana, keep your abdominals in and the legs firm and hold for five to eight breaths.
Urdhva hastasana is a naturally uplifting pose which can be practiced after long periods of being immobile to boost the body’s energy and can be therapeutic for those suffering from fatigue or anxiety. Another name for this is the palm tree pose.
3) Warrior
Continue from the palm tree pose and spread your left foot leg’s length back and press the outer left foot in to the mat while you lunge your right knee forward.
The left foot should be pointing at a 75° while making sure the knee stays above the ankle. Hold the pose for five to eight breaths.
Regular practice of warrior , sanskrit name Virabhadrasana increases flexibility of the hips and strengthens and tones our legs, ankles and feet.
4) Warrior II
After virabhadrasana on the right, stretch your arms, hips, and waist to the side as you gaze forward over your right hand. Keep the toes a little forward of the heel and make sure the front knee doesn’t roll in. Draw in your abs and keep your torso even between your legs.
Stay and breathe for five to eight deep breaths.
This yoga pose strengthens the shoulders, arms, chest, feet, ankles and legs, and helps stimulates the abdominal organs, which aids in digestion and can relieve backaches. It also improves stamina, balance and concentration.
5) Triangle
After the warrior II, straighten your front leg and hinge forward placing your hand on your knee or shin. Keep for five to eight breaths, then return back up to standing.
Also known as Utthita Trikonasana, Triangle pose engages all parts of your body, strengthens the core, opens your hips and shoulders while stretching the legs.
6) Extended Side Angle
Now bend the front knee again and place your outer right forearm on the upper right thigh. Raise your top arm overhead and extend from the outer edge of the left foot to the left fingers. Hold for five to eight breaths then same on the other side.
This is called Uttita Parsvakonasana and this also engages and strengthens all parts of the body.
7) Downward Dog
Place both hands firmly on the floor on either side of the left foot from Extended Side Angle while rolling your upper arms outwards. Keep the left foot back to meet the right as you come into Downward Facing Dog Pose. Lengthen up through your torso and use your legs to keep it in space. Hold for eight to ten breaths.
This is Adho Mukha Shvanasana and it strengthens the entire body including arms, shoulders, abdomen and legs by stretching the back of the body, ankles, calves, hamstrings and spine.
8) Forearm Plank
From the above, roll out to Plank and place your forearms on the floor, shoulder distance apart. Make sure you form a straight line from head to toe. Keep your abdominals in space and hold for a minute or half.
It’s called the Phalakasana II and it tones abs, shoulders, arms, chest and legs while focusing on the mind.
9) Baby Cobra
For this lay on your belly and lift your chest up like a Baby Cobra. Pull together your shoulder blades and breathe into the front of your body. Hold for five breaths then repeat two more times.
Bhujangasana strengthens the spine and stretches chest, lungs, shoulders and abdomen. It also firms buttocks and relieves stress and fatigue.
10) Child’s Pose
Finally, stretch the entire back body and curl up like a child and stay as long as you want to.
This is called Balasana and it elongates the lower back while widening your hips which helps in relaxation.
