Best Yoga Poses for Beginners and Inflexible People
You don’t have to be flexible to do yoga, although it definitely helps in some positions. But there are many movements you can perform, even if you have the world’s tightest hamstrings. We love this list from Health, which features great beginner poses that don’t require a lot of flexibility to get started. Here are some options to try:
- Tree pose , when you are standing on one leg and leaning the other leg on that leg. If you have good balance (or if you are holding onto a wall), you can place that leg on your shin or thigh. But it’s okay to keep the ball of your foot on the floor and just rest your heel on the other ankle. Try to lift this leg a little higher each time.
- Chair posture is about strength, not flexibility. You stand on both feet, legs together, and move your hips down and back as if you are about to sit in a chair. In an advanced yoga class, you can hold this pose for several breaths, going deeper and deeper. But if you’re just starting out, you can get up and down with each breath, not hold back.
- A downward facing dog should not be as stiff as it appears. This is a pose in which your arms and legs are on the floor, touching in the air. As a beginner, keep your legs apart and bend your knees as much as necessary. If you’re following a video or lesson that expects you to hold this pose for a while, feel free to take short breaks to take the child’s pose instead.
- The baby’s pose should be relaxing, but if you don’t like it yet, you can change it. Your instructor has probably placed your shins on the floor, your arms forward, and your head on the mat. If you’re having trouble, try resting your head on a pillow or yoga block. You can also extend your legs or move them closer together, depending on your preference – different leg positions stretch different parts of the body.
Check out the rest of the list for more ideas, including simple classics like mountain pose (standing on your feet, nothing more) and corpse pose (that’s what it sounds like – you lie down on the ground).