Beginner Friendly Yoga

Pada Power
10 Yoga Poses for Beginners Guided Yoga with Music Elevate Mood Improve Posture Courtney Bell Yoga Current
20 Min Guided Session
Pada Power Yoga Current Thumbnail
30 Min Guided Session
40 Min Pada Challenge Video
40 Min Guided Session
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Beginner Friendly Pada Power

More About This Series
10 Yoga Poses for Beginners Guided Yoga with Music Elevate Mood Improve Posture Courtney Bell Yoga Current
20 Min Guided Session w/Music
You will feel the effects of this practice throughout your entire body, but we are specifically strengthening and extending the thoracic spine-- your upper back-- and psoas muscle-- your hip flexor. Benefits include Improved Posture, Improved Digestion, Relief from Cramps/Bloating, Elevated Mood, and Back Pain Relief.
10 Poses for Beginner Level Practice:
 
  • Child's Pose
Lengthen your spine as your shoulders sink into the weight of your body. Feeling the stretch through your ankles and hips, breathe a sigh of relief to ease excess stress in your upper back and shoulders. Feel the calm power of your mind becoming clearer as you breathe 3 consecutive breaths.
  • Half Plank
Strengthen your core connection by keeping your knees to the ground. With your tailbone tucked and navel gathering towards your spine, dial the insides of your elbows/ "eyes of your elbows" to face each other, rather than shining forward. This stabilizes your arms and shoulders, providing a strong foundation for your upper back and neck.
  • Cobra
Lowering your hips and navel to the ground, thread your chest forward as you roll your shoulders back. Gaze forward in this beginner level cobra and focus the actions of your shoulder-blades and elbows towards your spinal center. Cobra strengthens your back while toning and detoxing your kidneys. Your pointed toes and stretched ankles provide an anchor for Cobra to extend upwards through your chest.

  • Thread the Needle
Begin on hands and knees and thread your arm under the opposite side of your body. Resting on your outer arm, you stretch your upper traps and levator scapula-- shoulders and neck, and your mid traps and rhomboids-- shoulders and thoracic spine.
  • Cat's Breath
On all fours, press through your hands, knees, and feet as you exhale and flex your spine. Then extend your spine as you inhale. Cat's Breath creates a rhythm with your body, mind, and breath and provides an overall energetic quality.
  • Vajrasana (Diamond seat)
Directing your knees together in this posture will strengthen your legs and thighs. This can relieve knee pain as well as lower back pain, and provides a strong foundation for posture. If you can maintain the actions of this posture while completing exhales-- feeling the vacuum effect of your navel to your spine-- then inhaling into the base of your lungs, you can raise your arms alongside your ears and interlock your fingers. Try to maintain an equal ration of inhale:exhale.
  • Ustrasana (Camel) ***PEAK POSE
Tuck your toes to gather more core stability and enter Camel 3x's, inhaling to extend your chest and exhaling to return upright. Rest before entering Camel again, and maintain the actions for 3 consecutive breaths. Reach your hands from your hips to your heels, and extend your body by lifting through the extension of your chest and anchoring forward through the foundation of your hips.
Benefits of ustrasana include toning your legs, thighs, and hips; improving digestion; strengthening your back; elevating mood; improving posture. In camel, you will be targeting your hip flexors, specifically the psoas muscle.
  • Malasana (Squat)
Malasana, especially with half-bind shown in this video, relieves pressure and pain from abdomen. It is beneficial to relieve cramps and bloating, and improve digestion and lower back strength. Complete cycles of slow, steady breath provide a nice  massage for the inner body.
  • Half Bow
Stand on one hand as you reach back to clasp your foot in this beginner backbend. Develop balance and coordination in your upper back, shoulders and chest as well as in your hip flexors/ psoas muscles. This will prepare your body for downward dog.
  • Walk the Dog
Press through one foot, stretching your hip as you tilt weight into opposite hand. This stretches the "fabric" or fascia of your entire back body. This will help to relax your mind, release stagnation in your digestive system, help to improve circulation through your entire body, and strengthen your postural muscles along spinal column. Once you can "Walk the Dog" for a minute, you will be able to maintain Downward Dog with more ease and focus in your actions.
Pada Power Yoga Current Thumbnail
30 Min Guided Session w/Music

You will want to have 2 sturdy yoga blocks or a bench/stool/chair to follow along (but if you don't have that right now, you will still learn a lot about the position of your feet and depth of your hips by watching the demo!

I'm using a 4in Foam block.

We start out focusing on the feet, Pada One & Pada Two:

  • Pada Positions for Warrior One and Warrior Two 
  • Tiger Pose 
  • Ardha Malasana (Half Squat)
  • Triangle Extensions
  • Triangle Rotations
  • Wide Angle Fold
  • Wide Angle Clasp (headstand preparation)
  • Side Angle Extension
  • Wide Angle Rotation
  • Tiger Pose Prowl
  • Malasana (Full Squat)
40 Min Pada Challenge Video
40 Min Guided Session (no Music)

All standing postures are noted as remedies for keeping our body weight lean, toning our core, butt, and legs, and developing proper alignment of ankles, knees and hips. --the health indications in my descriptions are sourced from Light on Yoga by Iyengar.

Also, I recommend having a yoga block. I'm using a 4in foam block in this video!

Beginner Challenge | 40 Min Guided Yoga 

  • Tree Pose

This pose tones the leg muscles and gives one a sense of balance and poise.

  • Triangle

This pose tones the leg muscles, and removes stiffness in the legs and hips. It relieves backaches and neck strain, strengthens the ankles, and develops the chest.

  • Revolved Side Angle (2x's!)

This pose tones the thighs, calves, and hamstrings, along with the back muscles. As the abdominal organs contracted, the pose aids in digestion and rejuvenates the abdominal organs and spinal column with fresh circulation. This pose helps to remove waste matter from the colon without strain.

If you feel exhausted then you can substitute Side Angle pose in place of Revolved Side Angle until your body attains more strength and flexibility, and "becomes elastic."

  • Wide Angle--Rotations and Fold

This pose stretches the hamstrings and inner thighs, and refreshes circulation to the chest and head. It is a preliminary pose to headstand, and can substitute for headstand and achieve many of the same benefits, including increased digestive power.

  • Half Moon Balance

This pose tones the lower back muscles, nerves connected with the legs, and it strengthens the knees.

If you feel exhausted then you can substitute Triangle pose in place of Half Moon Balance until your body attains more strength and flexibility, and "becomes elastic." 

  • Bow

This pose stretches your back and keeps your body agile. It also tones your abdominal organs. According to Iyengar, " persons suffering from slipped discs have obtained relief by the regular practice of Bow and Locust...."

  • Side Bow Stretch

This stretch massages your abdominal organs, releases tension in the shoulders, and helps to correct forward-slumping posture.

  • Upward Dog

This pose rejuvenates the spine, and replaces stiffness with agility in the back. It can relieve sciatica pain and backaches. With chest expansion the pose creates healthy lungs, and also brings fresh circulation and health in the pelvis.

  • Reclined Figure Four

This pose compresses the back muscles providing a gentle massage, while opening the outer-hip rotation.

  • Reclined Cobbler

This pose relaxes the entire body with open shoulders and trunk, while providing a stretch for the inner-hips.