My Favorite Yoga Poses

There are hundreds, possibly thousands of different poses out there, but from personal experience, I favor three yoga poses. I will try to explain some of the history of yoga and how to execute my favorite poses.

Yoga has been around for a long time. I'm not sure how long, but probably thousands of years. As long as there have been religious rites, there has been meditation. Yoga is a physical form of meditation. You learn how to breathe. I know that sounds crazy, but each person walking around may not know how to breathe. Children hold their breath; adults get so busy that they forget to breathe. Breathing is the basis of yoga along with different stretching techniques to open the body and let oxygen into all those hard to reach places.

The first pose is Balasana or Child's Pose. If you have ever seen a young child sleeping, you may have already seen this pose. Start by taking your shoes off. Bend down at the knees so that you are sitting on your heels. Move your knees so that they are about 4-5 inches apart. Exhale and bring your upper body down to rest between your spread knees. Exhale as you extend your hands out in front of you to rest palms down on the floor. Your arms should be completely extended. You should feel a stretching in your arms, shoulders, back, and legs. Stay in this pose for a few breaths and then lift yourself back up to the sitting position. Remember to keep breathing.

The second pose is Adho Mukha Svanasana or Downward Facing Dog. Start by getting on the floor with your hands and knees. Have your hands about shoulder width apart and your knees about hip width apart. Exhale and lift your bottom half up so that your head in between your arms pointing toward the floor and your legs are nearly straightened with the heels of your feet not quite touching the floor. You will know you are doing this pose right if you are in a triangular position with your head between your arms, your butt in the air, and your feet on the floor behind you. You should feel a stretch in your arms, back, midsection, legs, and calves. Stay in this position for a few breaths and then you will transition right into the next pose. Remember to keep breathing.

The third pose is Urdhva Mukha Svanasana or Upward Facing Dog. From the Downward Facing Dog position, bend your knees and extend your feet out behind you. Let your legs and midsection come to rest on the floor and lift your upper body up by placing your hands about shoulder width apart a little out in front of you. Your face should be looking up at the ceiling or sky depending on where you are at. If you could see yourself, your body should be making a slight C shape, but with the legs and feet flat behind you. You should feel a stretch in your arms, midsection, back, buttocks, legs, and feet. You can even sprawl out your fingers and stretch them too. Stay in this position for a few breaths. Remember to keep breathing.

So, I tried to narrow my favorite poses down to one, but it was impossible. Yoga is made so that as long as you are doing the poses and not hurting yourself, then you can do just about anything. I would suggest going to at least one yoga class led by someone who has experience with yoga. But, when you get the hang of it, save that money and do it at home. That will save you time, money, and you might even get the rest of the crowd in your house to join you. Yoga is great for anyone and everyone. If someone is wheelchair bound, they have yoga poses for that. Elderly folks with arthritis, they have poses to help with that, children do wonders because they are already pretty flexible. The thing is, just do it, but don't hurt yourself.