Throughout the years, my yoga practice has evolved. What started out as just a physical practice, has turned into incorporating yoga into my daily life. This looks like meditation, using breathing techniques to move my energy, and doing my best to incorporate the ethical tenets of yoga into my life.
Today, I am going to focus on the physical act of yoga, asana, and share with you ten of my favorite poses. Some of these are newer favorites while some have stood the test of time for me.
What is so interesting about yoga for me is the opportunity to explore poses in your body and how you can add different variations to mix things up. For example, in a low lunge you can add a different arm variation like a lateral side bend or eagle arms. Or you can add props to a pose. Yoga blocks not only help lengthen the spine and add stability, but they can also add a challenge in a pose. Place a block between your inner thighs in chair pose and give it a squeeze. Ooooh Mama! You will feel your inner thighs fire right up! So, take a little time to explore in your own practice and allow intuition to fuel your creativity.
My 10 Favorite Yoga Poses:
Seated Forward Fold
Start on your seat and extend both legs out in front of you. Inhale and grow tall in your spine. Exhale start to walk your hands toward your feet, hinging from the hips, until you feel a stretch in the back of the legs. Keep your knees and toes facing the sky. Use your breath to release tension in the back of your legs. Your knees can be bent deeply or have a soft bend to not hyperextend the back of the knees. Stay for 3-5 slow breaths then slowly walk your hands back to your hips.
Why I love it: My hamstrings get tight from other workouts I do so this is a great way to stretch them back out. I also love a more yin style upper body after several rounds of breath moving toward my toes. This looks more like a ragdoll in the upper back, shoulders, and head. The more you release your head to the floor and curl your chin into your chest, the more you feel a stretch in the back of the neck and shoulders.
Supine Twist
Lie on your back. Bring one knee into your chest and extend the other leg to the top of your yoga mat. Inhale and lengthen the tailbone down toward your feet. Exhale and allow the bent knee to cross over your body and rest on the floor, bolster, or block. Melt the shoulders toward the floor as you stay there for several breaths.
Why I love it: This pose stretches out my low back and outer hip. Sometimes I even get a free little chiropractic adjustment! Play with the placement of your knee slowly moving it up and down until you find a spot of tension and stay there for several breaths.
Pigeon
You can begin in a variety of different positions like tabletop, downward facing dog, or plank. Bend your right knee and place it next to your right wrist on the mat. Your inner thigh and calf will be up toward the sky while the outside of your leg will rest on the floor. Lower your hips to the floor or a block. Uncurl your left foot so the top of the foot rests on the floor straight out from your hip. Stay with your torso lifted or start to walk the hands out to your comfort level. You can rest your forearms or head on a block or extend your arms out on the floor. Keep both hips level. Stay here for several breaths. When you are ready to move to the other side, gently walk your hands back to your hips and come back to your original starting position.
Why I love it: This pose is such a juicy stretch for my outer hips. Also, it is a very grounding pose for me as I release my upper body to the mat. Pigeon helps me surrender more in my practice.
Low Lunge
Start on hands and knees in tabletop. Step your right foot to your right thumb. Place your hands on your hips. Inhale lift the torso up into a straight long line. Lengthen your tailbone down and lift your belly up toward your heart. Have a slight squeeze on your inner thighs as they move in and back between the legs. Pull your right hip back in space and your left hip forward so your hips are square side to side and front to back. On your exhale, you can lower the hips to get deeper into your stretch but be careful not to release the strength in the inner thighs and front thigh. You can raise your arms overhead but keep the shoulders relaxed away from your ears.
Why I love it: If you have ever practiced with me in person or online then you have probably experienced this pose because I use it a lot to warm up. I love the stretch in the front of my hip and the strength in my front thigh. A lot of us sit for extended periods during the day (flexion) so it feels good to open that space in the front of the hips (extension).
Lizard
Begin on your hands and knees in tabletop with your shoulders stacked on top of your wrists and hips above the knees. Step your right foot to the outside of your right hand toward the edge of your mat. I prefer my back knee to stay on the floor. You may already feel the stretch in the hips and groin with straight arms. If you would like to deepen the stretch, lower down to your forearms on a block or on the floor. You can also have your palms on the floor and bend the elbows to allow the torso to move closer to your mat. Stay here for 5 breaths or more and repeat on the other side.
Why I love it: This can be an intense stretch of the hips and groin (Do you notice a pattern about what I like to stretch?). My hips can get tight from sitting and exercising so this pose helps me to melt deeper into opening that area of my body. It can take your hips several rounds of breath to release so don’t move out of this one too quickly.
Tree pose
Stand with your hands on your hips. Press one foot onto the floor and place the other heel against your ankle with the ball of your foot on the floor (like a kickstand). You can stay here or begin to move your foot up to your calf or inner thigh. Keep your hips level. Gently press the sole of your foot into your leg and your leg into your foot to help maintain your balance. Engage your core and lengthen your tailbone down toward your feet. Once you are steady, you can move your hands to prayer at heart center or raise them to the sky.
Why I love it: This pose is great to challenge balance. Practicing balance and strengthening the muscles that help support you is very important as we age.
Eagle Arms
You can add this arm variation to many different poses. Cross one arm underneath the other and join at the elbows. Bend the elbows toward 90 degrees with the fingers pointing up. Seal the back of the forearms together. Wrap the bottom hand around to rest on the palm of your opposite hand. Lift the elbows parallel to the floor if possible and keep the shoulders relaxed away from your ears.
Why I love it: I hold a lot of tension between my shoulder blades which can create more tension in my neck. Eagle arms help to release that.
Garland
Begin standing and walk your feet slightly wider than your hips. Have the toes facing out around 45 degrees and your heels should be in toward your seat. Lower your hips down in between your legs to your comfort level. You can place a block under your seat to help raise the floor. Bring your hands down to the floor and keep the torso lifted. Lift your belly up toward your heart and allow the tailbone to be heavy.
Why I love it: Garland pose is a super deep stretch of the inner and outer hips, low back, and inner thighs. It can also open your chest if you bring your hands to prayer at your heart center and open your heart as you press your elbows into your inner legs.
Warrior 3
Stand at the center of your mat with your feet hip width and parallel. Press down through your right foot. You can have a small bend in the knee. Place your hands on your hips. Engage your core and start to lean the torso forward with a straight spine. Squeeze your seat and lift your left leg off the floor until it is in line with the hip. This will feel like a pendulum motion so as you lift your leg, your torso continues to lower until it is parallel with the floor. You can have your hands on your hips, on two blocks underneath your shoulders for more support, hands in prayer at heart center, or your arms straight in line with your ears.
Why I love it: This is a challenging balance pose but once I strengthen through my core and find my focus, I feel like I can stay there for a long time. BUT if I fall out of the pose or wobble, I laugh at myself and try it again.
Rotated Head to Knee
Begin seated on your mat. Extend your right leg out to the side. Bend your left leg and place your foot close to your groin. Inhale and extend both arms up to the ceiling. Exhale, place your right hand on your right leg or the floor in front of your right leg and bend the right side of your torso toward your straight leg. Keep both hips on the floor. Your other arm reaches up and over to the right side. Stay here for 3-4 breaths and do the same thing on the other side.
Why I love it: Not only does this pose stretch out the back of the legs, inner thighs, and hips, it also gives you a juicy stretch of the side body and ribs.
There it is! My 10 favorite yoga poses (as of today). If you would like to explore more poses with me, be sure to sign up for my free weekly newsletter where I share yoga sequences, breathing techniques, and meditations.
Much love and health,
Carrie