The Best Yoga Poses For Beginners

There's a reason why yoga has been around for thousands of years. Accessible to every woman and possibly the most relaxing form of exercise out there, it's also an effective way to strengthen and empower your body.

Better yet, it's one of the easiest forms of exercise to introduce into your programme. No matter where and when you practice yoga - in the comfort of your own home, or striking poses with your community at the gym, yoga requires little to no equipment and has dozens of different poses to stretch, strengthen and tone your whole body.

Interested? Read on to find out everything you need to know about yoga, plus the best yoga poses for beginners to try anytime, anywhere.

If you're looking for super-soft and lightweight yoga outfits that feel like you're wearing a second skin - and make you look amazing - check out our workout gear designed for stretching and all-day ease at Oner Active today.

What is Yoga?

An ancient practice originating in India, yoga focuses on breathing, flexibility, and strength to train both the body and the mind. It's a form of exercise that combines 3 main components: movements and positions, breathing techniques and meditation.

Today, there are various types of yoga that you can practice, including:

• Bikram Yoga (also known as hot yoga)
• Ashtanga Yoga (a fast-paced yoga style)
• Vinyasa Yoga (a more fluid yoga style focussed on connecting the breath with the poses)

Despite its different formats, each practice aims to unify the body and mind. It combines mindful relaxation to reduce stress and anxiety with the physical benefits of improved flexibility, strength and balance.

Why Start Doing Yoga?

Yoga is a fantastic and accessible way to move and build strength in a way that boosts both body and mind. It's a great exercise to start practising for a variety of reasons, including:

• If you want to build strength: Yoga involves holding static poses for a set period of time, which means your muscles need to work against gravity and contract to stay engaged and keep you steady. This is known as an isometric contraction – when you build strength without movement.
• If you want to improve balance and posture: Yoga often engages the core muscles through its poses and movements. Strengthening your core helps to stabilise the body and improve your everyday balance, posture, and flexibility levels.
• If you want an activity that is accessible: If you're nervous about starting a new form of exercise, yoga is a great way to ease yourself in. You can start with beginner-friendly classes and poses, which will help you learn what feels comfortable for your body and how to progress safely, avoiding injury.

Benefits of Yoga

Discover the top benefits of performing yoga below:

Encourages Mindfulness

Yoga is a brilliant way to reap the benefits of mindfulness. It uses breathing techniques and concentrated poses to help calm the mind, improve focus, and facilitate a deeper awareness of the body.

Improves Sleep

Yoga's focus on mindfulness, as well as its promotion of breathing techniques and mental clarity, can have a positive effect on sleep. It allows you to relax with more ease. Plus, its improved breathing practices enable you to slow your heart rate down and calm your nervous system, putting your body in a better position to rest.

Aids Digestion

Both the mental and physical aspects of yoga can support healthy digestion. Many yoga poses and movements, such as twists, can stimulate the digestive system, support blood flow to the digestive organs, and alleviate bloating. Meanwhile, mindfulness can help to slow down the heart rate, elongate the breath, and reduce stress, which in turn calms the nervous system and supports better digestion.

Strengthens Respiratory System

With a combination of physical postures and breathing exercises, yoga can aid your body in strengthening its respiratory system. Using these techniques, your body learns to increase its lung capacity and promote efficient oxygen intake. When combined, it can enhance your overall respiratory function.

The 8 Types of Yoga Poses

Yoga poses usually sit within one of eight categories:

1. Balancing

Balancing is a key component when practising yoga, helping you to maintain stability, focus and control (while, unsurprisingly, keeping your body balanced). Balancing poses vary in difficulty, from balancing on one leg to using only your arms to support your body. Balancing poses help strengthen your core, leg and arm muscles, as well as enhancing your overall stability.

Examples include: Downward dog, half moon pose, side plank pose

2. Standing

In standing yoga poses, most, if not all, of your body weight is supported through the feet and legs. So they're a great way to strength train your legs, hips, and core, which also helps keep you upright and balanced. Standing poses are usually performed in tandem with other movements, so are a fundamental part of most yoga flows.

Examples include: Tree pose, eagle pose, chair pose

3. Seated

This is where the yoga mat comes in useful. This variation of yoga pose is performed sitting on the floor with either legs crossed, extended out in front, or bent in different positions. As these positions are grounded and stable, they are especially accessible for beginners.

Examples include: Easy pose, bound angle pose, staff pose

4. Core

Core yoga poses support balance and stability by engaging and strengthening the muscles in your abdomen, lower back and pelvis. They're also great for those looking to achieve more toned abs. Perfect for beginners, core poses help create a solid foundation for more advanced yoga techniques.

Examples include: Boat pose, plank pose, side plank pose

5. Forward Bend

Forward bend yoga positions promote movement in the torso, typically encouraging a bend at the hips to strengthen the spine and stretch the back. This includes muscles in the lower back, as well as your calves and hamstrings.

Examples include: Standing forward bend, halfway lift, pyramid pose

6. Twisting

Twisting yoga positions also help soothe the spine, as they involve a rotation of the spine and the torso. These poses don't necessarily have to be performed when standing; they can even be seated or reclined movements.

Examples include: Seated spinal twist, reclined abdominal twist, twisted chair pose

7. Hip-opening

Releasing tension in the hip joint, glutes, hamstrings, inner thighs, and lower back, hip-opening poses are beneficial for mobility and posture. They're the perfect way to stretch and relieve tension - a major benefit if you spend long hours sitting at a desk.

Examples include: Pigeon pose, lizard pose, frog pose

8. Backbend

Extending the spine backwards, backbend positions help to open the chest, shoulders, and torso while simultaneously strengthening your back muscles. Depending on the level of experience, these positions can be gentle or deep.

Examples include: Cobra pose, sphinx pose, camel pose

The 8 Best Yoga Poses For Beginners

Thanks to its never-ending roster of poses, yoga has plenty for beginners to get stuck into - even if getting started feels daunting. Let's explore the top 8 best yoga poses for beginners below:

Mountain

1. The mountain is a great standing yoga pose for beginners. Start by standing with your feet together. Keep your big toes touching each other while your heels are slightly apart.
2. Let your arms fall by your sides and hold your head up straight.
3. Engage your feet to press down and root yourself to the floor. Then engage your thighs and core and draw your shoulders back.
4. Ensure your spine is straight and imagine a string pulling you from the top of your head.
5. Stare straight ahead and take five deep breaths.

Upward Facing Dog

1. Start by lying on the floor, flat on your stomach with the soles of your feet facing the ceiling. Keep your feet hip-distance apart and place your hands flat next to your ribs.
2. Take a breath in and straighten your arms to lift your chest up and forward.
3. Engage your thighs and carves by lifting your legs and torso off the mat.
4. Your spine should be curved with your legs at an almost 90-degree angle.
5. Take five deep breaths, then release.

Downward Facing Dog

1. Start on your hands and knees this time, ensuring that your wrists are directly under your shoulders.
2. Next, extend your legs and lift both hips in the air towards the ceiling. Your legs should be straight and your head between your arms.
3. Your body should look like an upside-down 'V'. Press through the palms of your hands and balls of your feet to lengthen your spine.
4. Hold the position for five breaths, then release by bringing your knees back to the floor.

Tree

1. Stand with your feet together and your knees slightly bent. Shift your weight onto one foot while lifting the other off the ground. Keep your hands by your side initially.
2. With the foot that is lifted, place the sole onto your right ankle, calf, or upper thigh, depending on your level of flexibility.
3. As you do this, place your hands in front of you in a prayer-like position, raising them above your head if you feel like you have enough balance.
4. Once you have held the position for five breaths, switch to the other side.

Chair

1. Begin by standing in the mountain pose. Once you exhale, bend your knees and push your hips back as if you're about to sit in a chair.
2. Draw your lower abdomen up and lengthen your tailbone down.
3. Extend your arms above your head, keeping your hands opposite each other, touching at your thumbs.
4. Hold the position for 5 breaths, then release and return to the mountain pose.

Warrior One

1. Start by standing in the mountain pose. Turning your toes out at a 45-degree angle, step one foot backwards, making sure to keep both heels on the floor.
2. Bend the knee that is at the front and ensure it's stacked directly over your ankle.
3. Square your hips and inhale as you lift your arms above your chest, ensuring they are straight and your palms are facing each other.
4. Keep your gaze straight ahead and hold the pose for three to five slow breaths, then release by returning to the mountain pose.

Bridge

1. Lie on your back and keep your palms flat on the floor by your side.
2. With your feet flat on the floor and your legs bent, inhale and push your hips up towards the ceiling.
3. Hold the pose for five breaths.
4. You can either keep your palms flat on the ground, or for an extra challenge, interlace your fingers and push your hands on the floor beneath your back to push your torso further up.

Child's Pose

1. Kneel and then sit on your heels, with your arms by your side.
2. Lean forward and extend your arms out in front of you on the mat, with your palms down. Let your torso rest between your thighs.
3. You can rest your forehead on the yoga mat or a block if needed.
4. Concentrate on your breathing and hold the pose for five breaths.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

With a starter kit of easy-to-access poses, you're almost set to start your yoga journey. But before you begin, let's explore some of the common mistakes to avoid below:

Poor Breath Management

As a yoga beginner, it's likely you'll focus your attention on performing each pose correctly at first. Try not to forget the most important part of all - breathing. Holding your breath creates tension in your body, so it's important to maintain steady inhales and exhales to ensure you relax and safely deepen into each pose.

Skipping Warm Up Poses

Yoga is about easing yourself into each position, so you can ready yourself for more challenging positions later in your workout. If you jump straight into the harder poses straight away before performing warm-ups, you could risk straining your muscles and injuring yourself. Prioritise gentle stretches and beginner-friendly poses before moving on to the more difficult positions.

Inconsistency

With any form of exercise, consistency is key. Try to weave yoga into your daily routine so it feels natural - just part of your day - rather than a big effort. Maintain a regular pattern - ideally a few times a week - and you'll soon start to notice a difference in your progress. It can be tempting to give up when you feel like the results are taking time to come through, but even short, regular sessions can improve your physical and mental health.

Overdoing It

When you're highly motivated, you might be keen to jump into a new form of exercise headfirst and push your body to its limit. But ultimately, it's all about practice, not perfection. Let yourself progress naturally and listen to your body when adopting more challenging poses. It might take longer, but your body will thank you for it, and you'll see better results.

Best Accessories For Yoga

What you wear for yoga can really make a difference in terms of your comfort, flexibility and progress. You want to be able to stretch freely, in lightweight clothing designed specifically for movement, comfort and the rhythm of your routine.

Think super-soft styles with virtually zero compression for enhanced stretching and a barely there feel. You may also want to invest in some key equipment that can be used at home, in the gym or in a yoga class. We outline the key accessories for enhancing your approach to yoga below:

Yoga Workout Outfits

When practising yoga, it helps to invest in appropriate activewear. This will help your body feel comfortable performing the poses without restraint. Fitted active tops facilitate movement without being bulky, particularly when performing poses that involve bending over.

Meanwhile, seamless, second-skin gym leggings are ideal, as they stay in place during yoga's various movements and stretches. Ensure yours are fitted and snug without being restrictive. Look for 4-way stretch and super-soft, sweat-wickable fabrics in shorts, tops and all-in-ones so they can flex with every move and enhance your comfort.

Yoga Mat

A yoga mat is a cushioned mat that helps provide a stable surface for your feet to grip onto when practising different poses.

Not only does it help protect joints from the impact of each pose, but yoga mats are also easy to roll up and lightweight enough for you to carry from home to the gym, or session to session.

Yoga Blocks

Commonly made of foam, cork or wood, yoga blocks are rectangular props that support the body during certain poses.

For instance, if you can't reach the floor in poses like child pose, a block can support the body and prevent it from straining. For beginners, they can be helpful in maintaining proper alignment and posture, so each position is more accessible.

Yoga Straps

Often used for stretches involving the hamstring or shoulder, yoga straps act as an extension of the limb, helping to deepen stretches.

They can be especially valuable for beginners who are building strength and flexibility gradually, and who might struggle to reach a pose without additional support.

In Conclusion…

With a history spanning thousands of years, it's no wonder yoga continues to appeal to women today, who admire all the physical and mental benefits it can offer. With our list of simple poses to get you started, you're on track to reap all the benefits yoga provides, from increased flexibility to a calmer mind.

Looking for some brand-new UK gymwear ahead of your next yoga session? We have a comprehensive range of styles and fits to get you started, move with ease, and make you feel great, from super-soft leggings to Softmotion bralettes. Check out our collection today.