5 Yoga Poses Perfect for Beginners · Mountain Pose (Tadasana) · Forward Fold (Uttanasana) · Plank Pose (Uttihita Chaturanga Dandasana) · Downward-Facing ...5YogaPosesPerfectforBeginnersMedicallyreviewedbyDanielBubnis,M.S.,NASM-CPT,NASELevelII-CSS—WrittenbyGretchenStelter—UpdatedonJanuary29,2020MountainPoseForwardFoldPlankPoseDownwardDogChild’sPoseOverviewIfyou’veneverdoneitbefore,yogacanfeelintimidating.It’seasytoworryaboutnotbeingflexibleenough,inshapeenough,orevenjustlookingsilly.Butyogaisn’tjustthosecrazyarm-balancing,pretzelposesthataresopopularonsocialmedia.Itcanbeeasytogetstartedandthenworkyourwaytomoreadvancedposes.Whetheryouwanttolearnsomebasicmovesbeforeyoutakeaclass,getsometipsonwheretobeginwithanat-homepractice,orlearnafewposestoimproveflexibility,here’sasequencethatcangetyoustarted.Thissequenceisthefoundationforsunsalutations.IfyoutakeanyVinayasaorflowclass,you’llmostlikelybeworkingthroughthisbasicsequence.MountainPose(Tadasana)Thisposelookseasy,becauseit’sbasicallyjuststanding.Butit’sthebasisforalltheotherstandingposesandinversions.Ifyoudothisactively,you’llbeworkingyourtorsoandlegs,andyou’llbegroundingyourself.Thiscanbegreatforconfidenceandeasinganxiety.Standwithyourbigtoesbarelytouching,andyourheelsslightlyapart.Agoodwaytogaugeyourstanceistoseeifyoursecondtoesareparallel.Pressintoallfourcornersofyourfeet:bigtoe,littletoe,rightsideheel,leftsideheel.Asyoupushintoyourfeet,feelhowthatengagesyourentirelegandkeepsthosemusclesactive.Takeadeepbreathandrollyourshouldersupandback,releasingthemdown,soyourshoulderbladesarerestingtowardeachotherandyourneckislong.Takeafewdeepbreathshere.Closeyoureyesifyoulike.ForwardFold(Uttanasana)Whenyou’rereadytomoveon,takeadeepbreath.Onyourinhale,liftyourarmstothesidesandup,overyourhead.Onyourexhale,releaseyourarms(eitherinfrontofyourbodyorouttotheside,likeaswandive)asyoufoldyourtorsooveryourlegs.Onthefirsttimethrough,haveatleastaslightbendinyourknees.Nomatterhowflexibleyouare,yourhamstringswillbecoldwhenstartingout,andyou’llwa