Yoga has been around for a long time and its poses and practice have been used to achieve well-being ever since it was brought into existence. Many of us do not have the time it takes to complete a full yoga session, but one of the beautiful things about yoga is that you don’t need 2 hours a day to feel the benefits. It only takes a few minutes of your time to start making a difference to your health. Even if you never get into the full swing of yoga, you will want to check out the following article.
The following article describes 5 poses you can do to maximize the benefits of yoga without spending too much time. Combined with breath, intention, and presence of mind, these poses will provide you with a strong foundation to build from.
See the poses below and be sure to share this with your friends who don’t believe that yoga can benefit them.
This pose is a squatting position with toes out, the heels in, and the hands at prayer position in front of the chest. It’s great for pregnant women, as it stretches the calves, inner thighs, relieves back ache and opens the pubic symphysis in the the pelvis.
Camel Pose
In this pose you stand up on the knees, hips width apart. Both hands rest either on the lower back or heels depending on the student’s flexibility. The pose increases lung capacity, and stimulates the adrenal, pituitary, pineal and thyroid glands.
Warrior 1
Standing with the feet at least 4 to 4.5 feet apart, the front toes point forward with the back foot on a slight angle, the feet aligned heel to heel distance. The front knee stacks right above the front ankle, with the front thigh parallel to the floor. Both arms extend overhead as the shoulders, chest, and hips attempt to square forward toward the front of the room. This pose is a wonderful stretch for the “mother of all abdominal muscles,” the psoas. Psoas tension is often seen displayed in the body through a tight jaw, grinding of the teeth, and general mouth tension. This pose can help stretch the psoas and bring relief to overall tension in the body
Half Lord Of The Fishes Pose
Bend the left knee while crossing the right foot over top, with the knee sticking straight up. With the right hand on the floor behind for support, bend the left elbow and place it on the outer right thigh to engage into a deep, thorough twist. Repeat on the other side and make sure that you twist from maximum spinal length. This pose is good for improving digestion by wringing out the digestive organs and system and is a simple twist that can help alleviate back pain by bringing awareness to the low back and helping to unwind muscles of the low back region.
Forearm Plank
Think upper push-up, but on your forearms. With the elbows right under the shoulders and the palms flat to the floor, the back toes tuck so the body is in one line of energy from the crown of the head all the way through the heels. This is a wonderful pose that uses the students’ own body weight to create strength in the shoulders and the core muscles. Using your own body weight in yoga to create strength helps to keep the skeletal system strong and helps to prevent osteoporosis.
See the full list of poses from mindbodygreen here.
All images are courtesy of mindbodygreen
