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Yoga, A Beginner’s Guide

Are you new to yoga? Do you want to get stronger while lifting your mood at the same time? Well, then this short guide is just the thing that you need. I want to help you understand the benefits of yoga and how you can perform simple but effective yoga sequences to achieve these benefits.

I’ve done yoga on and off for a few years, but with the new year I wanted to get a better routine and try to do yoga daily. Yoga helps to keep you in shape and the deep breathing helps to give you energy and clear your mind.

What is yoga?

To put it simply, yoga is a set of exercises that focuses on providing promoting your physical, mental, and spiritual energy. There are countless physical and mental health benefits of yoga that include improved vitality, weight reduction, increased flexibility, improved sleeping patterns, mental clarity, increased muscle strength and more. The best part about yoga is that it is not a strenuous exercise, but a simple routine.

The idea behind yoga is not to explore your physical limits, but to get you in tune with your body and inner self. Now that you understand the importance of yoga, let us take a look at some of the basic yoga poses to start with:

Mountain position:

• Stand straight with the feet together and shoulders relaxed. The weight is evenly distributed through your arms. Your pelvis, shoulders and feet are lined up. Inhale and exhale slowly.
  

  Here is an example from Howcast on YouTube:
  

  Optional variation: Raise your hands overhead with the palms faced towards each other. Reach up with your fingertips pointing towards the sky. Some people put their hands together above their head, while others straight up to the sky
  

Warrior I position:

• This is a little more complex than the mountain pose but it is still quite easy to perform. Stand with your legs at about 3 to 4 feet away from each other. Turn the right foot out at a 90-degree angle and the left foot inwards. Bring your hands towards the hips and extend your arms to the sides with your shoulders relaxed. Bend the right knee at a 90-degree angle and gaze over the right hand. Ensure that you are in a comfortable position. Stay in the position for up to 2 minutes and switch sides.

Here is an example from Howcast on YouTube:

Yoga is an amazing way for boosting your mood, rejuvenating yourself, and achieving mental calmness. If you are a beginner, it is always recommended that you start with the most basic positions and sequences before moving on to the more difficult ones.

I hope this was a helpful guide to get you started with Yoga and I wish you a wonderful week!

Love always,

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Here are a few Yoga programs worth trying: