4 Yoga Poses You Should Know Before Your First Class
You don’t need any prior knowledge of yoga before you dive into your first yoga class. On the other hand, a little familiarity with some of yoga’s most foundational poses can’t hurt. In this post, we present 4 basic yoga poses you’ll see in almost every yoga class, along with their more advanced variations. Learn these, and you’ll be well on your way to feeling like a pro.
Mountain Pose / Tadasana
Mountain pose is the foundational for nearly every standing yoga pose. A solid mountain pose sets you up for a strong, balanced stance in Warrior I, Tree Pose, or advanced postures such as Bird of Paradise. Deepen your awareness in mountain pose, and you’ll never view ‘just standing’ the same way again.
How to Do Mountain Pose:
- Stand in bare feet on your mat with your feet hips-width distance apart
- Parallel your big toes and notice a slight inner rotation of your thighs
- Engage your quads and pull your belly up and in
- As your chest lifts, relax your shoulders down and back
- Lengthen your arms toward the ground with your palms facing forward
- Hold mountain pose for 3 breaths or longer
Once you feel confident in mountain pose, try the following variations:
Sidebending
- From mountain pose, reach your arms overhead with your palms facing inward
- Touch your palms or interlace your fingers, and reach both hands to the right
- Stretch the left side of your body while keeping both feet equally planted on the ground
- Repeat on the other side
Chest Opening
- From mountain pose, reach your arms overhead with your palms facing inward
- Bend your arms into a goal-post shape by bending your elbows
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together to lift your heart as you look up
Backbending
- Reach your arms overhead with your palms facing inward
- Look up toward the sky and reach your thumbs back
- Follow this trajectory with your gaze and your upper body for a gentle backbend
Downward Facing Dog / Adho Mukha Svanasana
Downward facing dog is often used as a transitional posture, but is also a wonderfully strengthening pose on its own. At first, downward facing dog can be quite challenging. Eventually, you may come to see it as a resting posture, a good place in which to pause and catch your breath.
How to Do Downward Facing Dog:
- From all fours, place your hands at the top of your mat slightly wider than shoulder-width
- Lift your hips up and back and straighten your legs to create an upside down “V”
- Align your ears between your biceps and look back to the space between your feet
- It’s ok if your heels are lifted or your knees are bent. What you’re looking for is a long, neutral spine
Once you feel strong and stable in downward facing dog, try the following variations:
Down Dog Leg Raise
- From downward facing dog, press evenly into both hands and lift your right heel to the sky
- Keep your hips square by pointing your right pinky toe downward
- Project through your heel to create one long line from your right foot to your right hand
- Repeat on the other side
Down Dog Twist
- From a shorter downward facing dog stance, reach your right hand to your outer left ankle
- Bend your right elbow and look up underneath your left armpit
- Twist in your torso to shine your heart toward the sky
Crouching Down Dog
- From downward facing dog lift your heels and rise up on the balls of your feet
- Deeply bend both knees and hover them 3 inches off your mat
- Maintain length in your spine by pressing through both hands to send your tailbone further back
Child’s Pose / Balasana
Child’s pose is a gentle, passive hip opener that promotes healthy length in the spine. This calming, downward-facing posture is a go-to yoga pose when you need a moment of rest. You’ll frequently see it as a transition between standing poses, or for an intentional moment of quiet introspection.
How to Do Child’s Pose:
- From all fours, take your knees out wider than your hips and touch your big toes together
- Sit your hips back and down as you extend your fingertips forward
- Rest your forehead on your mat with your arms stretched out long in front of you
Once you feel comfortable in child’s pose, play with the following variations:
Child’s Pose Twist / Parivrtta Balasana
- From child’s pose, crawl both hands to the right
- Place your left palm on top of the right outside your mat
- Breathe deeply as you stretch the left side of your body
- Repeat on the opposite side
Rabbit Pose / Sasangasana
- Modify your child’s pose so your knees are together, thighs touching
- Reach your arms back by your side and cup your heels
- Round further into your spine as you lift your hips and bring your forehead towards your knees
Puppy Dog Pose / Anahatasana
- From child’s pose, lift your tailbone up toward the sky as you crawl your hands further forward
- Keep reaching forward until your hips are aligned above your knees
- Lower your heart and your chin to the ground between your extended arms
Corpse Pose / Savasana
Savasana, or corpse pose, is a relaxing yoga posture that’s often used to close each class. This yoga pose looks simple from the outside, but is quite challenging for both the body and mind. In savasana, the goal is to rest and do nothing, something most of us are not very practiced in! With regular yoga classes, we learn the benefits of stillness and quiet first-hand.
How to Do Savasana:
- Lie on your back with your legs long and your palms face up by your waist
- If you need to, bend your knees and plant your feet to maintain a neutral spine
- Close your eyes and allow your entire body and mind to rest
Practicing these simple yoga poses before your first yoga class builds confidence and lets you focus on more than just alignment the next time you see each of these shapes. Once you’re comfortable in each pose, try focusing on the breath.
If you’re brand new to yoga, an app like FitAtom can teach you beginner yoga poses and more. Before you even set foot in your very first yoga class!
