Table of ContentsView AllTable of Contents15 Beginner PosesInstruction and EquipmentAdaptions If You Have PainYoga Styles for Beginners
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
15 Beginner Poses
Instruction and Equipment
Adaptions If You Have Pain
Yoga Styles for Beginners
If you are new to yoga or have a health condition that makes it hard to do advanced poses, you can do many beginner yoga poses to achieve the benefits of yoga without prior experience or a lot of flexibility.
Beginner’s poses are easily accessible and can be modified tohelp you increase flexibilityand improve mental health and overall fitness.
Yoga Poses Beginners Can Try Now
The following poses are good poses for beginners to try. These can be practiced on their own, or you can do them in the order listed here, holding each pose for at least five breaths.
1. Easy Pose (Sukhasana)
FilippoBacci / Getty Images
To do the easy pose:
While this is called “easy pose,” it is not always easy for everyone. If your knees are high or it’s difficult to cross your shins, try sitting on a yoga block, a bolster, or a pillow or two. This will create space in your hips, allowing you to sit more comfortably.
2. Seated Twists (Parivrtta Sukhasana)
Evrymmnt / Getty Images
To do seated twists:
If you’re seated on a prop in the easy pose, you may need to place a prop behind you on which to rest your hand. You can use a block or a couple of books to modify this pose.
3. Cat/Cow (Viralasana)
fizkes / Getty Images
To do cat/cow:
4. Child’s Pose (Balasana)
Meeko Media / Getty Images
To do thechild’s pose:
While child’s pose is often called a resting pose, it is not much of a rest for many. To modify, place a bolster or pillows under your chest to support the weight of your torso and take the pressure off your hips.
5. Down Dog (Adho Mukha Savasana)
Jomkwan / Getty Images
To do the down dog (or downward dog):
If you feel an intense stretch in the back of your legs, bend your knees slightly to relieve the pressure.
6. Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana)
Daniel de la Hoz / Getty Images
To do the low lunge:
If this is a lot of stretch in your thighs or groin area, you can place two blocks under your hands to bring the ground closer.
To intensify the stretch, lift your hands toward the sky.
7. Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
To do the mountain pose:
If having your big toes touching is uncomfortable or doesn’t work for your body, separate your feet until you feel steady and can stand up straight.
8. Extended Mountain Pose (Urdhva Hastasana)
ilbusca / Getty Images
To do extended mountain pose:
If your arms start to bend as they move up, stop right at the point where they can remain straight, hold there, and breathe.
9. Standing Forward Fold (Uttanasana)
AzmanJaka / Getty Images
To do the standing forward fold:
If you have lower back issues, bend your knees as you fold forward.
10. Half Forward Fold (Ardha Uttanasana)
SrdjanPav / Getty Images
To do half forward fold:
Again, if you have back issues, keep your knees bent.
11. Chair (Utkatasana)
Edwin Tan / Getty Images
To do chair pose:
If this causes pain or is too difficult to hold, you can also do this pose resting your buttocks on a chair or a couch for support.
12. Seated Staff (Dandasana)
To do seated staff:
If your arms are naturally short, place blocks under your hands. If it is hard to sit up tall here, try placing a blanket or two under your sit bones.
13. Seated Forward Fold (Paschimottanasana)
Cavan Images / Getty Images
To do seated forward fold:
Some people may already feel a stretch in staff pose and may not need to fold forward to achieve one. In that case, stay in seated staff until yourflexibilityimproves.
You can also place a strap across the soles of your feet to slowly and gently move into the stretch until you’re ready to place your hands on the ground.
14. Reclined Pigeon (Supta Kapotasana)
GoodLifeStudio / Getty Images
To do reclined pigeon:
15. Corpse Pose (Savasana)
DragonImages / Getty Images
In every yoga class, the corpse pose is the final resting pose:
For people with back issues, a bolster or blanket under the knees can relieve pressure from the lower back.
Basic Yoga Instructions and Equipment
Starting yoga doesn’t need to be complicated. The most important thing to remember is that yoga is a personal practice. If the shapes you make with your body do not look exactly like the photos above, that’s OK. The point is to move and breathe in a way that makes sense for you and your body.
While a yoga mat is necessary to practice in a studio class, you don’t need one to begin at home. All the beginner poses described in this article can be done on your living room floor, or anywhere else you can find space to move.
Props, as mentioned in many of the instructions above, can be used to help make poses more accessible. These props include:
A Word From VerywellIf you have any preexisting health conditions, consult with your healthcare provider before starting yoga to ensure the type of yoga you choose is safe for your health and appropriate for your fitness level.—AMY KWAN, DPT, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
A Word From Verywell
If you have any preexisting health conditions, consult with your healthcare provider before starting yoga to ensure the type of yoga you choose is safe for your health and appropriate for your fitness level.—AMY KWAN, DPT, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
If you have any preexisting health conditions, consult with your healthcare provider before starting yoga to ensure the type of yoga you choose is safe for your health and appropriate for your fitness level.
—AMY KWAN, DPT, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
There is a term in yoga called “ahimsa,” which translates roughly to “do no harm.” In yoga, you never want to cause or exacerbate pain. One of thebenefits of yoga practiceis that you become more in tune with your body. If something is causing pain, you learn to back away from it.
If you currently live with pain, your practice may help ease that pain.By becoming more aware of your body, you can start to learn what works best for you to manage pain. For people withjoint pain, this might mean that you move slower, or focus more on your breath than on touching your toes.
Sometimes breathing in a slow, deliberate manner, like inhaling for four counts and exhaling for four counts, can help your mind focus less on the pain and more on the pose.
Relax the Mind and Body With 7 Restorative Yoga Poses
Types of Yoga Styles and Classes for Beginners
Classes listed simply as yoga usually refer to Hatha yoga. Hatha yoga focuses on combining breath with movement.
Many studios or gyms will list beginner yoga classes. These are likely Hatha classes taught more slowly and with more detailed instruction so that you can learn the poses before moving to faster sequences.
Iyengar yoga is another great style for beginners. This form of Hatha yoga pays close attention to detail and heavily relies on props, making it very accessible to beginners and people living with conditions that affect movement.
Is Yoga Good for Weight Loss?
Summary
Beginners can do many poses to achieve the benefits of yoga. These poses include easy pose, chair pose, down dog, savasana and more.
Beginning a yoga practice doesn’t need to be complicated; you only need space to move. Props like blocks, bolsters, and straps can help with pose modifications, making them more accessible.
Yoga follows the principle of ahimsa, which means “do no harm.” This principle can help people living with pain adapt poses to their limitations.
Beginning yoga classes in the Hatha style and Iyengar classes are all great classes for beginners.
3 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Csala B, Szemerszky R, Körmendi J, Köteles F, Boros S.Is weekly frequency of yoga practice sufficient? Physiological efects of Hatha yoga among healthy novice women.Front Public Health. 2021;9:702793. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.702793National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Yoga: What you need to know.International World Yoga Alliance.13 types of yoga.
3 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Csala B, Szemerszky R, Körmendi J, Köteles F, Boros S.Is weekly frequency of yoga practice sufficient? Physiological efects of Hatha yoga among healthy novice women.Front Public Health. 2021;9:702793. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.702793National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Yoga: What you need to know.International World Yoga Alliance.13 types of yoga.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Csala B, Szemerszky R, Körmendi J, Köteles F, Boros S.Is weekly frequency of yoga practice sufficient? Physiological efects of Hatha yoga among healthy novice women.Front Public Health. 2021;9:702793. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.702793National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Yoga: What you need to know.International World Yoga Alliance.13 types of yoga.
Csala B, Szemerszky R, Körmendi J, Köteles F, Boros S.Is weekly frequency of yoga practice sufficient? Physiological efects of Hatha yoga among healthy novice women.Front Public Health. 2021;9:702793. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.702793
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Yoga: What you need to know.
International World Yoga Alliance.13 types of yoga.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
