09 Basic Yoga Moves for Beginners You Can Try Yourself at Home

If you are a novice, yoga is the best sport for you to pursue. You can get several physical and mental health benefits by mastering the fundamental poses of yoga. The fundamental yoga poses that you can practice at home are covered in this article.

Benefits of Regularly Doing Basic Yoga Movements

Routinely doing yoga movements can provide many benefits for physical and mental health.

• Increase flexibility and muscle strength;
• Improves heart health and blood circulation;
• Improve sleep patterns by calming the mind;
• Improves focus and concentration by training awareness or mindfulness ;
• Maintain respiratory function and lung health; and
• Helps control weight.

09 Basic Yoga Moves for Beginners

There are many variations of yoga movements that can help physical and mental health. For beginners, you can do the following basic yoga movements:

1. Mountain Pose

Mountain pose or tadasana is a simple yoga move that can help improve posture and balance. Here's how to do it:

• Keep your body straight and your feet together when you stand.
• Place your hands at your sides in an open position and make sure your body weight is evenly distributed on both feet.
• Observe how you breathe and feel the balance of your body.

2. Downward Facing Dog

This yoga move, also known as adho mukha svanasana, works the upper body and helps stretch the muscles in the arms, back, chest, and legs. The pose is similar to an inverted V, with the head facing down.

Here are the steps to do downward facing dog :

• Start in a crawling position.
• Try to keep your legs, arms, and back straight when doing the downward facing dog movement .
• Hold the position for 1-3 minutes.

3. Warrior Pose

Warrior pose or virabhadrasana is a very popular basic yoga movement, because it improves balance and strengthens the hips, legs, and shoulders. There are several warrior poses that you can follow, including:

• Position your body standing straight, then lift your right leg 4 steps forward.
• Bend the leg that steps forward to form a 90 degree angle.
• Extend both arms parallel to the floor.
• Face your gaze towards the front or right hand.
• Hold for 1 minute, then repeat with the left leg.

4. Cat Cow Pose

The cat cow or marjaryasana-bitilasana movement is usually done at the beginning when starting a yoga practice. Its main benefits are reducing the risk of back pain and providing stretching to the spine. How to do it, namely as follows:

• Start on all fours, then arch your back up into cat pose .
• Next, arch your body down into cow pose .
• The cat cow movement needs to be accompanied by breath synchronization for maximum results.

5. Child's Pose

The child's posture, also known as balasana, is the most basic yoga practice. The child's position is straightforward, yet it does wonders for relieving back, shoulder, and neck strain. Here's the method:

• Start in a crawling position.
• After that, bring your buttocks down to your knees. On the mat, place the soles of your feet.
• Downward or mattress view.

6. Tree Pose

Tree pose or vrksasana is a yoga movement that helps improve concentration and strengthens the legs. This movement is more challenging because it requires good balance. How to do the tree pose, namely as follows:

• Start in an upright standing position.
• Bend the knee of one leg outwards, then place the sole of the foot on the inner thigh of the other leg.
• Position your hands in front of your chest or raise them up high.
• Hold this position for 30 seconds, while controlling your breathing.

7. Bridge Pose

The basic yoga movement that is also a little challenging is the bridge pose or setu bandhasana . The benefits of the bridge pose are strengthening the lower back and thighs. Then follow these movements:

• Start in a supine position.
• Then bend your knees 90 degrees.
• Bring your chest towards your chin, and make sure your neck remains relaxed.
• Hold the position for 1 minute.

8. Triangle Pose

Triangle pose or utthita trikonasana helps stretch the hamstring muscles, opens the pelvis and shoulders, improves balance and stability, and strengthens the legs. Here's how to do triangle pose :

• Start the position by standing up straight, then open your legs about 3 steps.
• Point your right toes to the right, while your left toes point forward.
• Stretch your arms out with palms facing down.
• Drop your body to the right until your right fingers touch your right toes. If you still have trouble, you can touch your knees.
• In this position, the left hand is stretched upwards.
• Hold for 5 breaths, and repeat in the opposite direction.

09. Corpse Pose

The last basic yoga movement is the corpse pose or savanna . This movement is very simple, useful for meditation and relaxation. How to do the corpse pose , namely as follows:

• Start in a supine position.
• Spread your legs shoulder-width apart and place your hands by your sides.
• Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.