10 Yoga Poses To Know Before Starting A Class
Whether you want to walk into your first yoga class with confidence or you just want to learn some of the basic yoga poses, this post is for you. Here we’ll go over 10 yoga poses to know before starting a class!
Basic Information For Beginners To Yoga
There's probably more to yoga than you think...
If you’re interested in learning more about yoga or are going to finally take your first class, that’s amazing!
Yoga is a wonderful and transformative practice. It truly benefits your entire being.
The practice of yoga goes far deeper than many may think. Yoga is much more than just a practice to improve flexibility or to get in a workout. I’ll leave it there for today because this isn’t a post about the depth of yoga but I do want you to know this.
If you want more information on this topic, check out this post here: What Is The True Meaning Of Yoga?
There's more than just one type of yoga class.
There are many different varieties and ways you can practice yoga. It’s not always about moving through different yoga poses but the most common type of yoga that people tend to start with is called vinyasa yoga.
Vinyasa yoga is a style of yoga that does move through different yoga poses and does work to improve your strength, flexibility, and mobility. This is probably the most common type of yoga class that you’ll find at most yoga studios and gyms.
I know it can be scary to go into a class and have no idea what to expect. That’s why in this post I’m sharing with you 10 yoga poses to know before starting a class. These will be the staples yoga poses that you’ll find in many vinyasa yoga and/or power yoga classes. Remember, there are other varieties of yoga out there that are different. So yoga classes such as restorative yoga or kundalini yoga will be very different.
If you’re attending a class that’s just labeled ‘yoga’ with no specifics, you’ll probably find these yoga poses within that class.
Yoga will look different for everyone.
Know that when you are starting a yoga practice, your yoga poses don’t need to look exactly like your teachers do. While there are basics to keep in mind (which you’ll learn below), there are many variations to make yoga poses work for you and your body.
For example, a warrior 2 pose with a slight bend in the knee is as much as a warrior 2 pose with a deep bend in the knee. Yoga is a personal practice and won’t look the same for everyone and that is perfectly ok!
You don't need to know everything before your first class.
I want you to know that you don’t need to know these poses before starting a class and you don’t have to be able to do them perfectly. This is the point of a yoga practice, to learn! But with that said, I know that many people will find it helpful to know some of the basics and that this will hopefully give you a boost in confidence to attend your first class!
Or, if you’ve already been to a class but want to feel more comfortable or learn more about some of the common yoga poses, then this is for you too!
With that lengthy intro…now let’s get into the 10 yoga poses to know before starting a class!
10 Yoga Poses To Know Before Starting A Class
1. Mountain Pose
Mountain pose (or its traditional yoga name, tadasana) may look simple, but it’s actually a very active pose. It’s wonderful for helping us to feel grounded which is why it’s commonly practiced throughout vinyasa yoga classes.
So don’t take this one for granted, just because it looks simple doesn’t mean it’s not effective!
- Start by standing with your feet together or hip width apart.
- Keep a slight bend in your knees.
- Keep your spine straight.
- You can imagine a string pulling the crown of your head toward the ceiling. Keep your neck in line with your spine.
- Relax your shoulders down away from your ears.
- Hold here and breathe!
2. Downward Dog
Downward dog (or its traditional yoga name in Sanskrit, adho mukha shvanasana) is probably the most common yoga pose you’ll find in a yoga class. It’s a common pose that’s used when transitioning to different postures. It’s also part of what’s called ‘Sun Salutations’ which is a common sequence that is performed in vinyasa yoga.
And don’t worry, your yoga teacher is most likely just gonna call it downward dog and not ardho mukha shvanasana, but I will be sharing with you the traditional Sanskrit yoga names as well in this post because it’s important to honor the origins of this practice! But with that said, you don’t need to memorize the Sanskrit names, just know that they are there and maybe one day you will learn them!
- Begin on your hands and knees in a tabletop position. Your wrists should be directly under your shoulders, and your knees under your hips.
- Tuck your toes under, lift your knees off the mat, and lift your hips up towards the sky. Your body should form a triangle shape.
- The main goal here is to keep your spine straight and your hips up toward the ceiling. If you need to bend your knees to do so, that’s perfectly fine!
- Your heels may or may not touch the ground depending on your ankle mobility, if the heels are lifted, that’s ok but think about allowing the heels to sink towards the ground.
- For your hands, you’ll be pressing through the point between your thumb and index finger to keep the arms straight.
- Keep your neck relaxed and keep your neck in one straight line with your spine.
- Hold here and breathe!
3. Child's Pose
Child’s pose, also known as balasana, is a wonderful, calming yoga pose that you’ll find is often used as a rest in yoga classes. While you want to work on connecting with your breath throughout your entire yoga practice, this pose is really great to re-find that connection with the breath if you lost it.
You can do this pose with wide legs or narrow legs. I prefer the wide leg variation as I think this feels better for most people so that’s what I’ll be sharing with you below.
- Begin by kneeling on your yoga mat. Bring your toes together and allow your knees to spread slightly wider than your hips.
- Sit back toward your heels.
- Extend your arms forward, with your palms facing down.
- Allow your forehead to relax on the ground.
- Your spine should be straight.
- Hold here and breathe!
4. Warrior 1
Warrior poses (also known as virabhadrasana) are common standing poses you’ll find in a yoga class.
There are subtle differences between warrior 1 and warrior 2 which you’ll learn here so that you’ll be a pro in your first yoga class!
- Begin in a standing position.
- Take a step back with your right foot.
- Bend your left knee but make sure to keep your left knee in line with your left ankle.
- Your right knee should be straight.
- Your right foot should be at a 45 degree angle and the heel should be pressing towards the ground.
- Keep your hips and torso facing forward. To do this, you can think about pulling your left hip back in space.
- Raise your arms overhead with your palms facing each other. Keep your shoulders down away from your ears.
- You can take a shorter stance than you see in this photo, just make sure to keep the front knee in line with the front ankle.
- Hold here and breathe!
- Then switch sides!
5. Warrior 2
Warrior 2 is similar to warrior 1 but there’s a slight variation in the position of your hips.
Read the instructions to learn more!
- Begin in a standing position.
- Take a big step back with your right foot.
- Your left foot should point directly forward. Your right foot should be perpendicular to your left foot, with your right heel aligning with the arch of your left foot.
- Your hips should be facing the side of your mat.
- Your left knee is bent and should be directly over your left ankle.
- Your right knee is straight and your right foot is in contact with the floor.
- Extend your arms out to the sides, parallel to the ground, with your palms facing down. Your arms should be in line with your shoulders. Keep the shoulders down away from your ears.
- You can take a shorter stance than you see in this photo, just make sure to keep the front knee in line with the front ankle.
- Hold here and breathe!
- Then switch sides!
6. Easy Pose
Easy pose (also known as sukhasana) is a common way to sit in a yoga class. Although the name is ‘easy’ pose, it’s not necessarily easy. The muscles of your back have to work here to keep your spine up straight and as you’ll learn through your yoga practice, sitting still can be tough. It takes practice to sit still.
But remember with easy pose, it is supposed to be relatively comfortable for you, so you can use props like yoga blocks to make this pose work for you and your body.
- Sit on your yoga mat and cross your shins in front of your body. You can choose which leg is more comfortable to have in front.
- Sit up tall with your spine straight.
- Rest your hands on your knees or in your lap.
- Keep your shoulders relaxed.
- You can place a yoga block or cushion under your hips to lift your hips up a little higher if this feels more comfortable for you. (I like to do this, I find it much more comfortable.)
- Hold and breathe!
7. Plank Pose
I’ll be honest, I didn’t learn the Sanskrit name for plank pose in my yoga teacher training and there are different variations of the translation online so for this one, we’ll just keep it in English.
Plank pose is another common transition pose in a yoga class but it’s also a great core strengthener!
- Begin in a tabletop position with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
- Step your feet back, one at a time, so that your body is in a straight line from your head to your heels. Your legs should be extended straight, and your toes should be tucked under.
- Draw your navel toward your spine to engage your core muscles.
- Continue to breathe, don’t hold your breath!
- Your spine should stay straight, don’t let your hip or shoulders sag down and don’t let your hips stick up in the air, you are in one straight line!
- Your neck should be in line with your spine.
- Hold here and breathe!
8. Low Cobra & High Cobra
Cobra pose (also known as bhujangasana) is another common yoga pose. Low cobra works more on strengthening the back muscles and high cobra works more on the mobility of the back.
You may see this pose often in your yoga classes as it is part of Sun Salutations, a common yoga sequence. You can choose to move through either low cobra or high cobra, it’s about what feels best for your body.
You may hear your teacher offering students to flow through what’s called upward dog, but I’m leaving that out of this post as it is slightly more advanced and I want to keep this beginner friendly.
- Begin by lying on your stomach.
- Place your hands on the mat under your shoulders, with your elbows bent and tucked in close to your body.
- Lift your chest off the mat. Use the strength of your back muscles to do this, not your arms. Your hands are resting lightly on the mat.
- Your legs should stay relaxed.
- Keep your neck in neutral.
- Hold here and breathe!
- Begin by lying on your stomach.
- Place your hands on the mat underneath your shoulders.
- Start to straighten your elbows to lift your torso up while keeping the legs relaxed. But remember, you don’t want to lock out your elbows, you should keep a slight bend in them.
- Your legs should stay relaxed on the mat.
- Keep your neck in neutral.
- Hold here and breathe!
9. Low Lunge & High Lunge
I’m grouping two poses together again because I couldn’t decide which one to choose and they’re similar enough.
Low lunge (also known as anjaneyasana) works more on flexibility and high lunge (which you may hear called ‘crescent pose‘) works more on strengthening.
High lunge is similar to warrior one but with a slight variation of the position of the back foot.
- Begin in a standing position at the top of your mat.
- Take a step back with your right foot, stepping it as far back as you comfortably can.
- Your left knee will be bent (keep the left knee in line with the left ankle).
- Your right knee will relax on the ground. If needed, you can either fold up your mat under the knee on the ground or place a thin pillow under this knee for additional cushion.
- Keep your torso stacked over your pelvis.
- For an extra stretch in the hip flexor, you can think about allowing your tailbone to drop down.
- Place your hands on your left thigh for support or you can raise your arms overhead.
- Hold here and breathe!
- Then switch sides!
- Begin in a standing position.
- Take a big step back with your right foot.
- Bend your left knee, keep it directly in line with your left ankle.
- Your right knee is extended straight behind you and is off of the mat.
- Your right heel is lifted off the mat with the ball of your right foot on the ground.
- Try to square your hips as much as possible. You can do this by thinking about pulling your left hip back in space.
- Your arms should be extended straight, and your gaze should be forward.
- Hold here and breathe!
- Then switch sides!
10. Savasana
Though spelled ‘savasana,’ this word sounds like ‘shavasana’. I am listing the Sanskrit name for this pose because your teacher will most likely use it. The English translation is corpse pose.
Don’t let its name scare you, this is a beautiful, healing posture. We’ll leave it here for today, I won’t get super spiritual on you but maybe one day you’ll be ready to dive into the spirituality of yoga.
Savasana is the posture performed at the end of a yoga class. It’s your resting posture and it’s the most important posture of the practice. This is where you allow your practice to integrate into your entire being – mind, body, and soul.
- Begin by lying on your back on your mat.
- Your feet should be hip-width apart, and your arms should be extended alongside your body with your palms facing up. Don’t be afraid to take up space!
- You can place a pillow underneath your knees if this feels better for your lower back.
- Close your eyes and work to let go of any tension in your body, including the muscles of your face.
- Shift your focus to your breath. Breathe naturally.
- If thoughts come to your mind that’s ok, just bring your attention back to your breath.
- Try your best to stay still while in this pose.
- When you are ready to exit Savasana, begin by gently wiggling your fingers and toes. Gradually start to move your arms and legs. Bend your knees and roll to one side.
- Use your hands to slowly push yourself up into a seated position.
There you have your 10 yoga poses to know before starting a class….or 12. You don’t need to have these yoga poses memorized at all, this information is just here to help you learn!
I hope that this information has helped give you the confidence you need to get to that class.
Yoga has changed my life in miraculous ways, don’t miss out on this beautiful practice that we are blessed to still have access to all these years later.
If you’d like to practice all of the poses in a beginner friendly yoga class, check out the video below.
Namaste
Beginner Friendly Yoga Class Consisting Of These 10 Poses:
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