These simple beginner poses, care of Siddhi Yoga, may be easy to do but that doesn’t take away from the health benefits they offer.

These poses are simple so injury is much less likely but you should still be conscious while getting into them. Part of a good yoga practice is being mindful of your body regardless of what level you’re practicing.

7 Essential Yoga Poses To Make Life More Awesome Now

Pose 1: Paschimottanasana (Sitting Forward Bend)

One of the best traditional forward bending poses. The benefits of a sitting forward bend include the strengthening of spinal muscles. You also nourish the nervous system and increase flexibility in the lumbar spine. This pose relieves pressure on the spine which eases sciatica pain.

You massage and stimulate abdominal organs. Constipation can be relieved and it counteracts obesity. You help your pancreas function more optimally when you do this pose regularly. You’ll feel the stretch in your hamstrings and hip joints.

By practicing this asana, you become more aware of what is around you as well as your inner self. We are reminded to keep our ego from taking over by calming the mind and nervous system. This is a great pose for quiet the mind for meditation.

Steps for the Paschimottanasana Pose

1. First sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you.
2. As you press actively through your heels, pull your sitting bones away from the heels.
3. Turn the top of the thighs in slightly.
4. As you inhale, keep the front torso long and lean forward from your hip joints.
5. If you can take the sides of the feet with your hands, do that. Otherwise, loop a strap around the foot soles and hold onto the strap firmly. Your chest should be forward with belly resting on the thighs.
6. Keep the torso lengthened with the head raised.

Pose 2: Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose)

Cow face pose will remove any pain and stiffness in the hip joints and lower body. The position your arms are in will give the shoulders, armpits, triceps and chest a great stretch. This relieves stiffness in the shoulders and the neck. It also strengthens your back muscles and tones the arms. The sciatica is relieved because you relax the piriformis muscles.

A great pose if you spend a lot of time at a desk.

Steps for the Gomukhasana Pose

1. From all fours, cross your right knee over your left knee and stack one on top of the other.
2. Sit down between your legs as your root your sitting bones on the mat.
3. Inhale and extend your arms out at your side and create a “T” shape.
4. Exhale and swing the right arms underneath the left while pressing forearms together.
5. Make sure to keep arms perpendicular to the floor.
6. Press palms or grab the opposite wrist. Lift your elbows slightly while melting shoulders down the back.
7. If this is too deep of a stretch right away, keep arms crossed but release palms on the shoulders and give yourself a hug.

Pose 3: Jathara Parivartanasana (Reclining Twist Pose)

Reclining twist pose tones your spinal column while getting rid of any stiffness in the spine and shoulders. It stimulates the large intestines to promote toxic elimination in the body. It’s a great pose to counter a long-standing asana practice or back extensions.

This poses calms both your body and mind. It releases tensions and emotions you tend to hold in your back body. Think of how you close your chest and round your back when you’re worried about something. This pose counters that closing of the heart and mind.

Steps for the Jathara Parivartanasana Pose

1. Lie comfortably on your back and bend knees in to your chest while extending arms to form a “T” with palms facing to the ceiling.
2. Inhale and lengthen tailbone to the ground.
3. Exhale and drop your bent knees to the right while sending your gaze to the left.
4. Keep knees and feet close together and press your shoulder blades down toward the mat.
5. Stay in this pose for quite a few breaths. When you’re ready, on an exhale, drop your knees to the left and send your gaze to the right.

Pose 4: Pawanmuktasana (Wind-relieving Pose)

Wind-relieving pose does just that. It removes excess air from your digestive system which is going to improve the effectiveness of your digestion, relieving bloating, and gas. This pose massages the intestines and organs in the abdominals.

Circulation increases in the hips which helps relieve tension in the lower back and hip flexors. You also strengthen your back and abdominal muscles as well as tone the arms and legs. Your body will feel more relaxed when the pose releases pressure that ‘s built up in the digestive system and spine. This pose is great to do in the morning as it can wake up the body, increasing movement which will carry you throughout the day.

Wind-relieving pose can be mastered with just a few small steps and will quickly relieve back pain.

Pose 5: Vakrasana (Simple Spinal Twist)

This simple spinal twist is great for beginners with plenty of benefits for the digestive system. It massages those abdominal organs and helps to promote good digestion while regulating secretion of digestive juices. This reduces constipation and prevent stomach diseases. Twisting in this way also helps reduce belly fat. You increase the flexibility in your spine and relieve any stiffness in the vertebrae. You also get a hip joint and let stretch.

This pose is empowering and will help increase your energy. It also improves how you see yourself, improving self-esteem.

Steps for the Vakrasana

1. Sit on the floor with legs straight in front of you
2. Relax your midsection and keep spine straight while placing the left hand to the right and left palm next to the right palm.
3. Place left foot outside the right knee and twist your head and upper body to the right without overdoing the twist.
4. Breathe into your back for a few breaths before switching to the other side.
5. Exhale in the final position and bring the abdominal, legs and hands back to center. Repeat on the other side.

Pose 6: Baddha Konasana (Butterfly Pose)

The butterfly pose is very simple. It gives you a deep stretch in the groin muscles and hip joints. It can relief symptoms of urinary disorders, sciatica pain and hernia discomfort. This is a great way to regulate your menstrual flow and helps keep the prostate, bladder and kidneys healthy. The variation to forward bend in this pose will help tone abdominal organs which will help your digestive system.

This hip opening pose will help us to release emotions that have built up. Butterfly pose helps you to get the feeling of a proper meditation posture.

Steps for the Baddha Konasana

1. Lie down on your back and spread your legs straight out.
2. Bend your knees and bring your feet towards your buttocks. The soles of your feet should touch each other.
3. Grab your feet with your hands and place hands underneath for support.
4. Take a deep breath in. As your breath out, press thighs and knees downwards. Make a gentle effort to continue pressing them downward.
5. Start flapping both legs up and down like the wings of a butterfly. Start off slow and increase speed. Breathe normally throughout.
6. Press elbows on the thighs or knees pushing them closer to the floor.
7. Feel the stretch in inner thighs and take long breaths while relaxing muscles more and more deeply.

Pose 7: Savasana (Corpse Pose)

While this pose is simple in the physical sense, some yogis report that it takes years to master the practice. At a beginner’s level, this pranayama practice keeps the spine long while you lay down and learn how to be still. You are training the physical and mental part of your body.

You get to relax your tension, you slow your heart rate and breathing down which reduces blood pressure. You take pressure off your bones, nerves, and joints by just relaxing. In this pose, shutting the psyche off is recommended. Put yourself in a state of meditation as you relax your body into the ground. Corpse pose relaxes you while rejuvenating you at the same time.

Steps for Savasana

1. It may be difficult to take in all the information that is available to master corpse pose. To start, lie down comfortably. Tuck your shoulders a little so your chest puffs out a little. This allows you to maintain an open heart.
2. Settle in and when you’re ready, inhale deeply. On your exhale, relax your whole body and imagine that it’s sinking into the ground.
3. When thoughts come up in this pose, be the witness to those thoughts and they will quickly dissipate.

Author Bio: Meera Watts

Meera Watts is a yoga teacher, entrepreneur and mom. Her writing on yoga and holistic health has appeared in Elephant Journal, Yoganonymous, OMtimes and others. She’s also the founder and owner of Siddhi Yoga International, a yoga teacher training school based in Singapore. Siddhi Yoga runs intensive, residential trainings in India (Rishikesh, Goa and Dharamshala) and Indonesia (Bali). She can be reached on social media at any of the following:

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