This is one of the activities I like to do to help me look good and feel good daily.
Yoga has more benefits than just increasing your flexibility. It can also increase your strength and muscle tone, improve your sleep and help ease back pain and headache.
An easy way to start off with yoga is this simple sequence called a sun salutation.
To learn yourself some simple starter yoga for beginners, just follow the steps below:
Mountain Pose
Stand at the front of your mat with your feet hip width apart, your shoulders back, tail slightly tucked under, your arms and neck relaxed and your gaze forward. This is your grounding pose.
Inhale and raise your arms and your gaze to the sky.
Forward Fold
Exhale and bend at the waist, framing your feet with your hands. Knees can be slightly bent here for comfort.
High Lunge
Inhale as you send the right foot straight back behind you into a high lunge and look forwards with your hands still planted firmly shoulder width apart.
Downward Facing Dog
Exhale the left foot back to meet the right foot hip width apart with hands still planted firmly shoulder width apart in this most famous of yoga poses – downward facing dog. Raise your hips up towards the ceiling and take a moment to draw the heels towards the ground.
Plank
Bring your hips down into a straight line with your shoulders and heels into plank pose with an inhale. This is a great core and shoulder exercise.
Crocodile
While exhaling, bend your elbows slowly down into a Crocodile pose with your body just lifted off the ground. Say hello to your triceps!
Cobra
Inhale up and look skywards in Cobra pose. I lift my hips, thighs and knees off the ground too, balancing on the tops of my feet but this is optional.
Downward Dog
From here exhale and lift the hips straight back, rolling over the tips of your toes back into downward dog.
3-Legged Dog
Inhale the right leg to the sky, keeping the leg straight and the hips level. Look towards the back of the room and try to keep a straight line from your fingers to your top toes.
High Lunge
Exhale the right leg back through to plant it squarely between your hands in high lunge with your gaze to the front.
Forward Fold
Step the left leg through to meet the right foot with your hands still firmly planted and framing the feet and raise your hips in a forward fold.
Raise your hands back up to the ceiling and unfold on an inhale, then exhale them back to your sides while standing straight and you are back in mountain pose.
This is one sun salutation. Now, repeat using the left leg.
10 sun salutations every morning is a great way to bring yoga into your daily life.
Yoga is a great all over exercise for both physical strength and flexibility as well as mental clarity and relaxation.
I find my morning sun salutes as a great way to get the blood flowing and set me up for a happy cheerful day!
With every exercise, it is important to make it into a habit so that you can do it daily or almost daily. It only takes 10 minutes of your time, so being too busy is never an excuse.
Once you master these poses, try using the breath more effectively by only using one inhale or exhale per pose. You will find that the breath and the movement really complement each other.
When 10 sun salutations every day gets too easy and you need a new challenge, check back here soon and I will show you some interesting and exciting variations to the flow.
What is your favourite yoga pose?
Please add your comment below!
Love,
