Yoga for the Rest of Us: Simple Poses and Practices for Everyday
Not everyone is an early bird with a 5 am wake-up call and is ready to throw themselves into not only an active workout but also make breakfast, get ready for a full skincare routine and then start their day at work. For some of us, we are nighttime owls who enjoy getting in our fitness and healthy eating but at a slower pace. While it’s not a bad thing to be either or sometimes, no matter what lifestyle you lead, there will be points in time when all you have the energy for is something simple but effective.
Yoga has been the craze for years and with its rich history, there is more than plenty of evidence for why. These simple movements have the power to make us feel more relaxed and just feel healthy, especially when a lot of us are office workers. we aren’t getting the well-needed movement our body requires to be a healthy individual, which definitely isn’t good for us as we grow older.
We need to ensure that we are keeping our joints active and giving our muscles some well-deserved stretching. It’s crazy because, as kids, we are so flexible and that is because we were never still. As time goes on, we have less time available to do things such as play and move, but finding a love for movement such as yoga can be such an anti-ageing natural holistic method that is a must in our routines for a healthy, unpainful and natural ageing process.
So whether you are new to the party or you want to know more about simple yoga pose structures you’d like to incorporate into your busy routine, we have put together 7 simple yoga pose sequences you should do every day to get that full body experience and stretch.
Pelvic Tilts
The first position we can get into is pelvic tilts while you are lying flat on your back with your knees up. This movement will help alleviate any pressure or pain that you might feel in your lower back, which is a great way to start the day after lying in bed all night. Do them slowly, inhaling when you lift your groyne to the ceiling and exhaling as you go back to base.
I would recommend that you do this until the movement itself feels fluid or until you notice any relief in your back. If you prefer to keep it close to a rep, try up to 20 reps, but depending on how much time you have or your comfort, you can do more.
It’s key to remember that this subtle and simple yoga pose—slow and steady—wins the race in yoga.
Cat-Cow Stretches
It’s time to gently manoeuvre from your back onto all fours. We are still focusing here on the back with cat-cow stretches, which are essentially inhaling into a cat-arched pose, tucking in your neck and then exhaling into a cow position, raising both your tailbone and neck with your back arched towards the ground.
This movement is perfect for the spine, allowing it to fully elongate and stretch, which is well-needed in the morning before you crack on with any activities. You could take it a step further and turn it into a flowing rotation or you could take your time making sure you are remembering to breathe and stretch as much as you can. You want to feel more energy and more flexible with your back and spin after this so aim for about 20 reps.
Downward-Facing Dog
Moving from your last position by using your two back feet to stand up, you will, of course, move into the downward-facing dog, which helps to stretch your hamstrings, calves, and shoulders. Research has even found that this simple yoga pose can help with your external obliques, which help with back stability.
You want to make a sort of triangle with your body, lifting your hips into the air with your palms and feeling flat. Beginners might find it hard at first to extend and not bend their knees but with consistency and patience, you will be able to in no time.
Take this a step further and begin to bend one knee at a time and rotate your hips. This will help them open up and keeping the body moving is, in my case, a better feeling after the initial stretch.
Low Lunge
Using your palms and slowly shifting back till you are fully standing up, you can now move on to the next yoga sequence, pose benign, the low lunge.
You will repeat this on both sides but begin to step your right foot out with your hands coming forward and placing them parallel to your right foot. You will also lower your body and attempt to bring it in line with your thigh.
This movement should also stretch your hips as well as your hamstrings and calves. This is a good all-round move that is essential for those who are either using or not moving their body that much in the day ahead.
Mountain Pose, Raised Arms Pose to Forward Bend
As we are already in a neutral and simple yoga pose, we can begin by moving our arms up, stretching to the sky, remembering to inhale during the mountain pose, and exhaling slowly down, bringing it into a forward bend pose, which is like touching your toes, which we all did as kids. This all works so seamlessly together that you are doing a full 360 stretch.
The mountain to raised arm sequence post helps loosen up stiff muscles and improve the flexibility of your shoulders, hamstrings and spin. Not to mention, it does wonders for your core and back muscles. These simple yoga pose sequences are easy to do literally anywhere, as they don’t require much space or even a yoga mat.
With that being said, this is a great way to finish this sequence. You not only have hit every muscle and joint, but you are also standing up, ready to continue with the rest of your day-to-day activities
Final Thoughts
I hope that this simple yoga sequence is something that you can easily incorporate into your daily routine and that it makes you feel ready for the day ahead. Remember to breathe in between movements and continue with the sequence until you feel not only a little boost of dopamine but also comfortable. It’s easy to forget that our body is tense, especially after countless hours in the office and asleep so finding 10 or 15 minutes a day to whack on your women’s gymwear and get your yoga mat out will make a world of difference.
