Best Yoga Poses for Beginners: Beginner-Friendly Yoga Flows You’ll Love to Do Anywhere and Everywhere!

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If you’re new to yoga, you might feel like there’s no way you’ll ever be doing arm balances or inversions. But we've got you covered!

Maybe you don’t want to do advanced poses, and you just want to add a few simple poses or sequences to your daily workout routine.

You might need a break from a long sweaty practice, and going back to the basics sound like a giant breath of fresh air.

The following poses and sequences are perfect for yoga students of any level!

1. Yoga Essentials: 11 Yoga Poses Everyone Should Know & Practice​

yoga essentials for beginners

via Livestrong

String these poses together as a flow, or pick and choose a pose to suit what your body needs that day. You don’t have to devote 90 minutes of your day to a yoga practice to feel open and flexible. Even the littlest bit helps!

Downward facing dog is perhaps the most well-known yoga pose, and it’s truly a “home base” pose for your practice. It strengthens your shoulders, biceps, and core while lengthening your spine and hamstrings.

Warrior 1 and crescent lunge offer as much strength as you want for your practice. Hold these poses for five to ten breaths for more fire!

Garland, forward fold, and cat/cow are excellent ways to open your back body, and throw in a camel pose to open your chest and shoulders.

Finally, stretch your arms out in child’s pose before settling into your sweet savasana (corpse pose)!​

2. 20 Minute Full Body Yoga Workout​

yoga essentials for beginners

via bistroMD

This sequence puts together a series of poses that will get your heart pounding and your muscles quivering. If you’re looking for a cardio workout, hold each pose for one breath.

If you want a lot of strength work, hold each pose for three to five breaths. You’ll get a full head-to-toe workout with this sequence regardless of how long you hold each pose.

Don’t feel obligated to stick to the order on this infographic! You can break these poses apart and put them into whatever sequence your body is craving.

For example, if you want a balanced practice, do all of the one-sided poses on one side before switching to the other.

A short sample sequence:​

  • Forward bend
  • Down dog
  • One-leg down dog (left or right side only)
  • Warrior 1 (left or right side only)
  • Warrior 2 (left or right side only)
  • Warrior 3 (left or right side only)
  • Warrior 2 (left or right side only)
  • Down dog
  • Forearm plank
  • Side forearm plank (left or right side only)
  • Forearm plank
  • Dolphin pose
  • Child’s pose
  • Corpse pose

This sequence will get your heart pumping if you hold each pose for just one or two breaths, and you’ll certainly feel your muscles working, too!

3. 24 Yoga Poses for Beginners​

yoga essentials for beginners

via fitwirr

All of the poses on this chart are essential in yoga practices of all levels. You can mix and match them to create your own flow, or use it as a handy cheat sheet if you’re having a difficult time keeping track of the poses.

If you’re going to be doing the backbends on this chart (for example, locust and upward bow), ensure you’re properly warmed up before attempting them!

Backbends are never something you should execute when your muscles and spine aren’t sufficiently warmed up.

A few sun salutation As (forward fold, chaturanga, cobra, downward facing dog) are a great start to warming up and preventing back injuries.​

At the bottom of the chart are two advanced poses, supported headstand and headstand.

These should be attempted only when you have sufficient shoulder and bicep strength, otherwise you risk injuring your cervical spine.

Your shoulders are what support you in a headstand, not your head and neck. Be careful!​

4. Good Morning Yoga Sequence for Beginners

yoga essentials for beginners

via mindbodygreen

Do you ever feel like you’re a little too dependent on coffee in the morning? Swap one cup of coffee (not all of them! We aren’t mean!) for this easy flow.

If you’re a side sleeper, your hips can be pretty tight when you wake up in the morning. Drop down into malasana (squat) to open those creaky hips up.

You can sway gently side to side or make small circles with your hips. Get your triceps down into your inner thighs, put your hands together in prayer pose, and push the palms of your hands together.

This press naturally opens your chest up with your hips, giving you an extra-wonderful stretch in all of the right places!​

5. Quick Morning Yoga for Absolute Beginners

yoga essentials for beginners

via AbsoluteYogaAcademy

Only have a few minutes?

These simple poses are accessible anywhere and anytime. They’re great if you’re stuck in the office all day, you’ve just spent a lot of time traveling on a plane or in the car, or you need to get your blood pumping.

  1. Starting in child’s pose is a pleasant way to begin your practice. It helps you center as well as help you access your diaphragm to fire up your ujjayi breath.
  2. From child’s pose, transition into downward dog.

    Feel free to move around in your dog! Bend one knee at a time, bend both knees to broaden your upper back and soften at the base of your neck.​
  3. Step forward into forward fold. If your hamstrings are tight, keep a slight bend in your knees. Grab the opposite elbows with your hands and sway back and forth or bounce up and down like a salt shaker.

    Get rid of all of the kinks!​
  4. Step back into downward dog, and extend one leg up to the ceiling, keeping your foot flexed, your toes pointing down, and your hips even.
  5. Keep your chest forward to sink deeper into your hips. Pushing up with your back toes and your front heel, rise into crescent lunge.
  6. Your hips should be squarely forward, then go heel-to-arch into warrior II.​
  7. In Warrior II, ensure you aren’t sitting in your neck. Drop your shoulders, reach through your fingertips, and while staying low in your front leg, trickle your back hand down your leg, keeping your core engaged and your top arm active.

Repeat this sequence on each side as many times you need to!

Yoga is incredibly accessible. Even if all you know are the five parts of the sun salutations, that’s all you need for a complete yoga practice!

You don’t need a mat or a large space to practice in.

Don’t stress about making your practice fancy, filled with tons of flashy advanced poses. Going back to the basics regardless of where you are in your practice is a great way to refresh your practice!​

And if you want to spice up your yoga routine, try out an online studio. They offer new routines for all levels on a regular basis.

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