One of the most important benefits of practicing yoga is the flexibility and the nimbleness it brings to your body. In fact, many renowned medical institutions have done extensive and research and study on the knowledge of Ayurveda as well as yoga, which are both sister sciences and originated around the same era in history.
Both yoga as well as Ayurveda are holistic healing and well being sciences that work on mending and strengthening the body and the mind in different ways and techniques. Since India is the place of origin, all the authentic knowledge of yoga is hidden in the minds of great Indian Yoga gurus. Yoga enthusiasts flock to this country in large numbers to get their yoga teacher training in India. Rishikesh, which is a small district in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, is the World Yoga Hub. Yoga in Rishikesh is a dream come true for yoga enthusiasts and they flock here to get certified as a yoga teacher by getting their yoga teacher training in Rishikesh.
When one thinks of yoga, one may image difficult postures and poses; it may get very stressful to imagine yourself in that same pose, while your body may not allow you to stretch that much. But learning to do asanas and mainly in the correct way, in a gradual process of practice, it takes a lot of days to master a simple pose and then one moves on with another.
Warming up before a yoga session allows you to do and work on these postures and asanas. A quick 15-20 minutes warm up helps you build confidence as well as flexibility to move on with the yoga class/session. Here are 5 amazing asanas that help you loosen the body and gain that maximum stretch to help you with your flexibility.
- The plank pose:
This is a great way to engage your core muscles and arm strength. The core of a body is one of the areas that generate the maximum energy in a person. Start with engaging the core muscles during the warm up.
To do this pose:
- Start by lying on the ground face down with your abdomen touching the ground. Both your feet should be close together and toes touching the ground.
- Now move your arms beside your shoulders so that your palm is touching the ground and gently push yourself in the air, upper body in the air and the toes touching the ground.
- Breathe freely and comfortably and stay in that pose for as long as you feel comfortable.
- The runner’s lunge pose:
This is a pose that engages the calves and thighs of the body. This is great to warm up the lower body and generate strength in the legs.
To do this pose:
- While still in the plank pose, slowly bring your right leg forward so that the knees are nearby, or touching your chest areas and the sole is firmly placed on the ground.
- Breathe freely and comfortably for 10 counts.
- Now alternate the legs while doing this pose for ten counts on each leg.
- The standing side bend pose:
This pose gives the arms, forearms, rib side, the waist and the side thighs a good amount of stretching. It is also good with toning of the muscles of the sides of the body from the arms to the thighs and calves.
To do this pose:
- Start by standing on the ground with feet apart from each other.
- Now raise your right hand above your head and bend from the waist side towards the left side of the body. Do this in 10 counts while breathing freely.
- Now alternate the arm and the side of the bend.
- The downward facing dog pose:
This is another pose that works great on the thighs, calves, hips and the upper body and gives them a good stretch for the session.
To do this pose:
- Start by placing both your palms on the ground ahead of your shoulders.
- Now you have to make sure that your arms and upper body are straight and tilted at an acute angle.
- Now join both your legs and slowly stretch them backwards.
- In the end your body should be forming an inverted V while doing this pose.
- Stay in this pose for as long as you can and feel comfortable. Breathe freely.
- The child pose:
Now this is a restorative pose that eases the tension and cuts the intensity from the body and mind after that long warm-up session.
To do this pose:
- Be seated in a Vajrasana.
- Now slowly bend from your waist forwards; so that your chest area is touching your upper thighs and keep your arms ahead of yourself so that your forehead is touching the ground.
- Stay in this pose for as long as you feel restored and comfortable.
- Breathe freely.