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May 31, 2023 · Learn the basics of yoga with these 31 poses, organized by type and difficulty level. Find out how to do them, what benefits they offer, and how to modify them if needed.
Browse this alphabetical list to learn more about yoga pose benefits, contraindications, practice tips, and more. Find yoga poses by type, anatomy, style, benefit, and more with video tutorials, variations, and detailed anatomy illustrations.
English NameSanskrit NamePose TypeHip-Opening Yoga Poses Seated Yoga Poses ...Forward Bend Yoga Poses Standing Yoga ...Core Yoga Poses Seated Yoga Poses ...Forward Bend Yoga Poses Hip-Opening Yoga ...Explore a vast collection of yoga poses, from seated and standing poses, twists, forward bends, to kundalini and prenatal yoga. Find poses for specific health benefits, anatomy, and types, with tips, videos, and cues.
- Four-Limbed Staff Pose
- Upward-Facing Dog
- Half Moon Pose
- Warrior I
- Warrior III
- Intense Side Stretch
- Bow Pose
- Camel Pose
- Side Plank
- Revolved Triangle Pose
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How to do it
From Plank Pose, shift forward onto your tippy toes. Ground through your palms and broaden across the chest. Take an inhale. On an exhale, bend your elbows to a 90-degree angle. Keep your thighs lifted toward the ceiling. Imagine stretching your tailbone toward your heels as you lengthen through the spine. Hold your elbows in line with the torso. Gaze forward. To come out of the pose, release your knees to the ground. You can also keep your knees lifted and lower down onto your stomach for an...
The benefits
Chaturanga is a key part of Sun Salutations, which you’ll find in Hatha, Sivananda, Ashtanga, and Vinyasa yoga classes. It promotes core stability and strengthens your abdominals and triceps.
How to do it
Lie facedown on the floor. Bend elbows and place hands on the mat in line with lower ribs. Hug your elbows in line with your torso. Tuck your toes and take an inhale. As you exhale, push the floor away like a push-up. Straighten your arms and broaden across the chest, hovering your hips a few inches above the floor at the same time. Pro tip:If you have any low back pain or a spine injury, modify this pose. Keep your feet on the mat, point your toes, and press the tops of your feet down into t...
The benefits
You’ll open up your chest and shoulders, while stretching the abdominals and hip flexors. This pose comes after chaturanga in a classic Sun Salutation.
How to do it
Start in a Triangle Pose. Bend your front knee, keep it in line with your second toe. Step back foot in and walk front hand about 12 inches forward. Keep it on the floor or place it onto a block. Shift your weight onto your front foot and lift your back foot off the ground. Straighten out the front leg, keeping your front hand on the floor or on a block. Reach your back leg toward the wall behind you, foot flexed. Lift your back arm up toward the sky. Keep your gaze on the hand touching the g...
The benefits
This balancing pose strengthens your legs and outer hips. It also stretches your hamstrings and inner thighs, and promotes concentration.
How to do it Start in Downward-Facing Dog. Step one foot forward between your hands. Turn your back foot out, approximately 45 degrees, and ground down into your back foot. Line your feet up heel to heel, or slightly wider. Bend the front knee directly over the front ankle while you straighten your back leg. Draw your back heel down toward the floo...
How to do it
From Warrior I, hinge forward at the hips. Rest your abdomen on your front thigh. Step the back foot in and shift your weight into your front foot. On an inhale, lift your back leg off the ground, straighten through the leg, and reach through your back heel. Press your palms together in front of your sternum (prayer hands) and gaze forward. You can also place your arms along the hips, outstretched in front of you like you’re flying, or on the floor underneath your shoulders.
The benefits
This heating pose strengthens your legs, outer hips, and upper back. It also helps improve balance and posture.
How to do it
Start in Mountain Pose. Step your left foot back and place it flat on the floor at a 45-degree angle. Ground down into both feet and lift up through the thighs. Place your hands on your hips. Rotate your torso forward. Hinge at the hips and lengthen your spine over the front leg. Lift away from the floor and broaden across the chest. Pro tip:If it’s accessible to you, join your palms to touch behind your upper back. For tight shoulders, grab opposite elbows behind your back.
The benefits
The pose helps calm the mind and stretches your spine, shoulders, wrists, hips, and hamstrings.
How to do it
Lie facedown, roll your shoulder blades down the back, and send your arms back behind you. Bend your knees so that your feet are near your butt. On an inhale, lift your upper body and legs off the floor, keeping the hips grounded. Reach back to grab outer ankles. Use the leverage to lift your body up and broaden across the chest.
The benefits
This backbend stretches the whole front of the body, especially the chest and the front of your shoulders. It also gives a nice massage to your abdominal organs.
How to do it
Kneel on the ground with your shins hip-width apart. Press the tops of your feet into the mat. Rest hands on your hips, thumbs near your lower back. Take an inhale and press down into your shins. Elongate through the spine. On an exhale, reach your arms back toward your heels. Use the leverage to lift your chest up toward the sky and get a nice shoulder stretch. Pro tip:Place your hand on two blocks or curl your toes under so you don’t have to reach as far.
The benefits
This backbend stretches the entire front of your body, from your throat to your ankles, and even helps strengthen back muscles.
How to do it
Start in Downward-Facing Dog. Turn onto the outer edge of your right foot, making sure that your right foot and right hand are in alignment. Stack your left foot on top of your right. Lengthen through the spine through the crown of your head. Once you’re stable, lift your left hand up toward the sky. Press the floor away from you with the bottom hand. Pro tip:For an added challenge, lift your top foot off the grounded foot. If it helps, imagine you’re a starfish.
The benefits
This pose strengthens your shoulders, upper back, and abdominals. It also promotes core and scapular stability, which is helpful if you’re working on inversions or arm balances.
How to do it
From Mountain Pose, step your left foot back and place it flat on the floor, turned out 45 degrees. Line your feet up heel to heel, or wider for more stability and space. Ground down into both feet and lift up through your thighs. Hinge forward at the hips and lengthen spine over your front thigh. Release your left hand to a block placed on the outer edge of your front foot. You can also place the block on the inside of the front foot. Rotate your torso to the right. Stretch your right arm up.
The benefits
This balancing posture stretches your hamstrings and outer hips. Twisting promotes the overall health of the spine and engages your abdominal obliques to facilitate the twist.
Learn how to do 30 yoga poses with Sanskrit names, instructions, and benefits. From Mountain Pose to Headstand, this guide covers the essential asanas for beginners and experienced practitioners.
People also ask
Which yoga poses are best for beginners?
How are yoga postures categorized?
What is a yoga pose?
- Cat and Cow (Marjaiasana / Bitilasana) One of the most essential and easiest yoga poses for a beginner to learn is cat pose and cow pose. Yoga Instructor Brooke Nicole Smith explains that “this sequence connects movement with breath, moves through both flexion and extension of the spine, and allows the practitioner to experience stillness at the apex of each movement, as well as in a neutral spine position between the movements.”
- Easy Pose (Sukasana) The classic seated pose with legs crossed and a straight spine isn’t always easy to do. Most yoga classes will start off in Easy pose, so it is essential to know how to make this beginner pose as comfortable as possible.
- Mountain Pose (Tadasana) The foundation of all standing poses is Mountain pose. Laura Finch, founder of Yogakali.com, believes that “Tadasana is the most crucial yoga pose for beginner yogis as well as for yoga teachers who work with entry-level students.
- Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) One of the most practiced poses in a yoga class is Downward Facing Dog. This pose is often used as a transition between poses and can eventually become a great place to catch your breath in a fast-flowing class.
Find instructions, drishti, cautions and benefits for each yoga pose in the Yogapedia Pose Directory. Learn how to perform the posture, what to focus on and what to avoid, and how to improve your postures with tips and tricks.
