Surf & Yoga Retreat Guides – The Most Important Yoga Poses For Beginners
When you are brand new to yoga, it can feel intimidating and be difficult to know exactly where and how to get started. It is recommended that you start with a short and straightforward yoga session and slowly build up from there. Once you feel comfortable with a few basic beginner yoga poses, you can incorporate them into a sequence and continue to add more challenging poses. These beginner yoga poses will help you create a strong foundation and find a love for the practice.
Mountain Pose: The foundation of all standing poses, Mountain Pose makes a great starting position, resting pose, or tool to improve posture.
Instructions:
Stand with your feet together, but heels slightly separated or with feet hip-width apart (about four to six inches or “two-fists’ distance”) and parallel. Center your weight over the arches of your feet. Ground down through the mounds below your big toes and your outer heels. Line up the back of your skull with the back of your tailbone. Rest your arms alongside you with palms facing in or forward. Broaden through your chest and collarbones. Root down through your feet and lengthen up through your crown. Relax your face and jaw.
Child’s Pose: Child’s pose is a common beginner’s yoga pose. It is often used as a resting position in between more difficult poses during a yoga practice.
Instructions:
Spread your knees wide apart while keeping your big toes touching. Rest your buttocks on your heels. On an exhalation, bow forward, draping your torso between your thighs. Your heart and chest should rest between or on top of your thighs. Allow your forehead to come to the floor. Keep your arms long and extended, palms facing down. Press back slightly with your hands to keep your buttocks in contact with your heels. Hold for up to a minute or longer, breathing softly. To release the pose, gently use your hands to walk your torso upright to sit back on your heels.
Plank: The plank is the perfect precursor to more challenging arm balances.
Instructions:
From Standing Forward Fold, step or jump both feet back 4-5 feet into a push-up position. Spread the fingers wide apart with the middle finger pointing forward, press into the palms with the arms are straight. Tuck the tailbone under so the legs, hips and torso are one straight line. Press the crown of the head forward and with the toes tucked, press the heels back. Breathe and hold for 1-4 breaths. To release: either bend the knees to the floor into Child pose.
Nirbana is one of Sri Lanka’s all-inclusive luxury yoga retreats where you will have access and support from the on-site hosts and pro-instructors to assist with all of your needs. Apart from yoga, one can also indulge in activities like surfing, photography and organic cooking. Moreover, being in close proximity to the ocean is just a perfect way to soothe your mind and body. The purposely curated luxury yoga, surf and paddle retreats at Nirbana offer guests the chance to escape and relax while being perfectly located less than 2km drive from the Indian Ocean.
