As a beginner yogi, you know that it can take time to understand the basic forms of the poses. As you become familiar with how these postures feel in your body, you’ll probably want to practice them outside of online or studio classes. But you may have no idea how to weave the poses into a beginner yoga class that makes sense for your body.
Yoga sequences come in all shapes and sizes. The progression of most poses is linear, one pose following the next in a logical step-by-step progression from less challenging poses to more challenging poses and then back to less challenging poses. Typically, an exercise or series starts with body-warming stretches, then progresses to more challenging standing poses, and then slows down to cooling stretches before ending with a final relaxation.
This is just one way of performing the series. Each yoga school has its own ideas about how to sequence an asana exercise. Usually, each posture in the sequence is performed once, but as a beginner, it may help to perform each posture two or three times, focusing on a different aspect of the posture each time. For example, you can practice a pose like a triangle (trikonasana), focusing on your feet or legs first, and then repeat it while focusing on your spine or arms.
How to make a yoga sequence for beginners
In most beginner yoga sequences, the poses are grouped into four basic stages:
1. Centering
Start the practice in a sitting or lying position with a simple meditation or breathing exercise to gather and focus your awareness. The breathing exercise can be as simple as resting your attention on each inhale and exhale, and focusing on letting them become slightly longer and deeper.
2. Warm-up
These are simple stretches and less intense variations of the poses that allow your body to slowly warm up in preparation for the next poses.
3. Standing and balancing
The middle part of the series consists of generally standing poses that challenge you to find the form of the pose while remembering to breathe and engage your body in different ways, all while maintaining a balance of effort and ease. The pose itself is not yoga. Being aware of how you hold yourself in the pose is yoga.
4. Cooling down
The last part of the class includes simple seated and lying stretches, culminating in the final resting pose, Savasana. It can be tempting to skip the last pose. Don’t do this! This will allow you to integrate all that has gone before.
Yoga series for beginners
You can practice the basic yoga sequence for beginners below as is, or adapt it to your own needs. For poses that require you to bring one leg forward, remember to practice both sides before moving on to the next pose.
Top Home Yoga Practices:
- Sukhasana (Easy Pose)
- Balasana (Child’s Pose)
- Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose)
- Ardha Uttanasana (Standing Half Forward Bend)
- Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend)
- Urdhva Hastasana (Upward Salute)
- Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle Pose)
- Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend)
- Vrksasana (Tree Pose)
- Utthita Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)
- Navasana (Boat Pose)
- Salabhasana (Locust Pose)
- Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend)
- Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose)