A Few Examples of Yoga Postures

Yoga is a practice that involves a variety of postures. As you begin your exercise, you need to take things slowly and listen to your body’s signals. Do not push it when it tells you to stop. Bear in mind that you are not participating in a competitive sport. So when you push your body beyond its limits in an effort to get the ‘perfect posture’, you will simply end up ruining your exercise and even injuring yourself without gaining any points.

Sukhasana:

This is an easy sitting posture that is the basic starting position. The posture helps you to take note of your breathing and body as a whole. The posture is also helpful in developing strength in the lower back as well as opening the hips and groin.

You sit with your legs crossed and hands on the knees. Concentrate on how you breathe as you maintain your spine in a straight position while pushing your sit bones onto the floor. Lower your knees gently as far as you can. You may need to sit on a cushion in case your knees go higher than your hips. Breathe slowly but deeply about five to ten times.

Raise your arms above your head as you inhale, and bring them down slowly as you exhale between five and seven times.

Dog and Cat:

This is a combination of two different poses, with one flowing into another. Start on all fours, with your hands barely in front of the shoulders and the legs apart at about your hip width.

Inhale as you tilt the pelvis and tailbone up while curving your spine downward. Lift your head up at the same time. Do the reverse as you exhale, getting into the cat posture. Repeat a number of dog and cat postures flowing into each other to help in making your spine more flexible.

Donna Houston