Beginner Poses for Strength & Flexibility
Increase your flexibility and strength with these yoga postures.
Beginner yogis need to build strength and flexibility as a core foundation of their yoga practice. Standing beginner yoga poses are an excellent way to do just that. The poses below are perfect for increasing strength by challenging your lower body endurance, as well as increasing flexibility in the lower back, hips, and hamstrings. This is especially important since common issues for new yogis include tight hamstrings and a stiff lower back.
If you’re just starting your yoga journey, try the seven poses below to get your practice off to a strong, flexible start!
Mountain Pose
Mountain Pose, or Tadasana, is the foundation for all yoga poses. It teaches the body the alignment to reference in all the other yoga poses. As a foundational pose, it’s a lot harder than it looks! But this standing beginner yoga pose is the perfect place for a new yogi to begin.
High Lunge Pose
High Lunge Pose energizes the body and strengthens the legs, arms, and abdominals. It’s an excellent alternative to Warrior 1 Pose, which we’ll also practice on this beginner yoga pose list. High Lunge is challenging and strengthening, but also a very accessible standing beginner yoga pose.
Warrior II Pose
Warrior II Pose, or Virabhadrasana II, strengthens the legs and the abdominals, and stretches the hips. This pose has also been known to help you feel more confident, so it’s great for the body, mind and spirit! Warrior II is a fun and empowering standing beginner yoga pose to practice anytime you need a little boost.
Extended Side Angle Pose
Extended Side Angle Pose, or Utthita Parsvakonasana, stretches through your shoulders and upper back. It also helps with strengthening and toning the legs and abdominals. Now we’re getting more advanced in our standing beginner yoga poses!
Triangle Pose
Triangle Pose, or Trikonasana, relieves back pain – especially if you suffer from sciatica or pain in the sacro-iliac joint. It also strengthens the legs and increases hip flexibility. This standing beginner yoga pose offers a wide range of benefits.
Warrior I Pose
Warrior I Pose, or Virabhadrasana I, strengthens your legs and releases tension in the upper back and shoulders. This standing beginner yoga pose also helps to release the iliopsoas and abdominals while stretching the hip flexors. It has subtle yet important differences from the High Lunge Warrior II poses we practiced earlier.
Chair Pose
Chair Pose, or Utkatasana, builds heat in the body and really fires up those quads! This standing beginner yoga pose also strengthens the legs and opens the chest and shoulders. You’ll find Chair Pose in Sun Salutation B (and you’ll learn – you should never skip your Sun Salutations!)
All images courtesy of Christina D’Arrigo.
