Earlier this year, we shared a blog about all the great benefits of yoga.
If you have been thinking that you need to spend time and money at a yoga studio to enjoy the benefits of this amazing therapy, you are wrong. All you need is a mat and instruction on how to perform these healing practices. It’s time to enjoy the benefits of yoga.
Five Easy At-Home Poses
These five easy at home yoga poses will help benefit your mind and body. All you need is a yoga mat and a few minutes for yourself.
- Start on your hands and knees, with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. Gaze downward.
- Move into Cow Pose by inhaling as you drop your belly towards the mat. Life your chin and chest, and gaze up to the ceiling.
- Exhale and move into Cat Pose. Draw your belly to your spine and round your back towards the ceiling.
- Inhale, coming back into Cow Pose, and then exhale as you return to Cat Pose.
- Repeat 5-20 times, and then rest by sitting back on your heals with your torso upright.
- Come to your hands and knees with your knees directly below your hips and your hands slightly forward of your shoulders.
- Curl your toes under, and while exhaling push back through your hands to lift your hips while lengthening your tailbone away from the back of your pelvis.
- With your head between the upper arms, move your shoulder blades away from your ears towards your hips.
- Firm the outer arms and press the bases of the index fingers actively into the floor.
- Rotate your thighs inward, keep your tail high, and sink your heels towards the floor. Stay in this pose anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes, then bend your knees to the floor with an exhalation and rest in Child’s Pose.
- Kneel on the floor while bringing your big toes together and sitting on your hips. Separate your knees about as wide as your hips.
- Sit up straight and lengthen your spine through the crown of your head.
- Exhale and bow forward, placing your torso between your thighs and allowing your forehead to come to the floor.
- Extend your arms, palms facing down.
- Soften and relax your lower back while keeping your eyes closed. Hold this position for about a minute, breathing softly.
- Sit on the floor with your legs straight in front of you.
- Inhale and lift your arms over your head and lengthen up through your fingers and the crown of your head.
- As you exhale, bend forward from the hip joints, slowly bring your arms and torso towards your legs. Reach the hands to your toes, feet, ankles, or shins – whatever your flexibility allows.
- Inhale and lift your arms up while lengthening the torso again, and exhale and bend forward again.
- Sit up straight on the edge of your mat extending your legs in front of you. Then, cross your legs at your shins.
- With your knees wide, place each foot beneath the opposite knee. Fold your legs in toward your torso.
- Place your hands on your knees.
- Align your head, neck, and spine. Lengthen your spine and soften your neck. Relax feet and thighs.
- Hold for up to a minute, then release and change the cross of your legs.
Other Recommended Poses
There are many great tutorials to help you practice yoga at home. If you have any trouble with these poses, just search for a video to help guide you. We also recommend checking out the following poses: Mountain Pose, Plank and Modified Plank, Warrior II, Tree Pose, and Bridge Pose.
These five easy at-home yoga poses are shared with you by our very own Kathleen Aubry. Kathleen has been working with pt Health since 2008. She is a registered Kinesiologist and Registered Yoga Teacher with over 25 years of combined experience in the areas of clinical Kinesiology, Aquatic Therapy, Personal Training, and Yoga.