a precious 5 yoga poses

I’ve called this post, a precious 5 yoga poses for a few reasons. These poses are fundamental, “easy,” and they can be done in any order you want. They are all about alignment, stretch, and posture. With these 5 poses you can calmly enter into a more complex yoga practice, or stay with and learn a lot from these. Anyone can do them. 

Although I could talk about each one of these poses (asanas in Sanskrit, the language of yoga) in minute detail,  I’m going to keep it simple and easy here. The first pose pictured is known as cobbler’s pose. 

cobblers (Badha Konasana)

Sit up against a wall, with your butt and back touching the wall. Put the soles of your feet together. If the stretch in your inner thighs is too much, put pillows under your thighs.  (note: Don’t force your lower back against the wall.)

half wall (Ardha Uttnasana)

Stand in front of a wall with your feet hip width apart and parallel. Put your hands flat on the wall about shoulder width, fingers pointing up. This is all about alignment: your body should form a right angle when you’re doing it. (note: Don’t “hang” on the wall, stretch towards it.)

extended child’s pose

Get down on the floor with your knees apart, your toes touching. Take your head, chest and arms down between your thighs, your arms about shoulder width apart. Keep your butt on your heels as you stretch forward with your arms extended and active. (note: You can do this on a blanket if your knees are “bad” or they hurt.)

mountain pose (Tadasana) 

Stand up against a wall, your feet together. Get as much of your body as feels natural against the wall. Feel the pose from the bottom up. (note: This pose is all about posture.)

legs up the wall (Suptapadasana)

Lie down on the floor with your butt and as much of your legs as is natural touching the wall. Keep your legs straight. (note: If the stretch is too intense, not relaxing, back away from the wall but keep your heels touching the wall and your legs straight.)

As with even the simplest exercise, if it hurts don’t do it. If you think it’s going to hurt, don’t do it. And ask me to clarify anything you don’t understand via comments.

Anita