Yoga for Beginners

Alexandria Crows teaches Bow Pose in her "new, backwards way," to target all the tight and weak places that might be holding you back.

Ever try a yoga pose and feel like your body just doesn’t make that shape? Erin Motz (a.k.a. the Bad Yogi) has 3 ideas to help you rock Crow Pose.

Sure, you could eat watermelon or take a dip in the pool, but yoga can help your body and mind chill out, says Kristen Kemp of Powerflow Yoga.

It turns out, you don't have to commit to a full hour of yoga practice to reap its many benefits.

How do you know if the option you’ve chosen is best for you? This fun and revealing guide can help you pick the right class.

A yoga practice 
can be an important recovery tool 
for tennis in order to stretch tight muscles and encourage tissue resiliency.

Increase your shoulder flexibility and develop greater strength with these prep poses 
for Pincha Mayurasana, forearm balance.

Modify Dolphin if needed to find safe alignment for your body.

Open and strengthen the shoulders, open the hamstrings, and prepare the body and mind to go upside down in Dolphin Pose. Learn how to get the most out of this pose.

Maintaining a feeling of youth, even as you age, requires a flexible spine. Try this sequence to open your back and shoulders.

In order to stay agile as you age, make forward bends, backbends, and twists a regular part of your practice. Start here.

This sequence emphasizes moving safely into backbends that open the heart and shoulders and challenge balance.

How do you know if you've been in a pose too long? When you start to "sag," says Eddie Modestini, who will lead Yoga Journal's upcoming Vinyasa 101 course.

The following five poses root down into the ground, allowing you to expand and create more space within your body and mind.

When it comes to injury prevention, what 
you do between poses may be as important as the poses themselves. Here’s how 
to flow safely through tricky transitions.

Tame anxiety with this short meditation and seated sequence.

Every yogi, it seems, has a tale of a bum knee, shoulder, or hip. But getting injured in practice often means something is out of alignment.

Feeling discontent, dissatisfied or down? Heart-opening yoga poses, such as Wheel (Upward Bow) Pose, are the perfect Rx.

Athletes (and non-athletes) tend to have a lot of misconceptions about the hips. Here, the anatomy and function of the joint demystified.

The Dharma Yoga Wheel helps newbies and veterans backbend safely and fearlessly.

Tight or open, your hips need to be strong for injury-free movement. Learn how to build stability in common yoga poses.

The hunch in your shoulders and knots in your neck aren’t just uncomfortable, they carry an orthopedic risk. Amy Ippoliti created this practice to counteract "tech neck."

These 3 hand mudras will help you keep yoga, learning, and inspiration at the top of your list. Try them with the following mantra: "Magic takes guts."

Kathryn Budig wants to introduce you to her new love: Karate. Here, two kicks to get you started, paired with the perfect poses for the flexibility and strength required.

NASA rocket scientist/yoga teacher Scott Lewicki balances a highly technical day job with creativity on the mat. Use this innovative practice to find new space in often forgotten muscles.

Begin with 10 minutes of foundational poses to remember why you are perfect exactly as you are.

Begin with 10 minutes of foundational poses, then add complexity to each posture in the 20 minute sequence, allowing yourself to honor your current practice.

Try this 30-minute sequence to allow yourself to honor the perfection of your practice and expand into more-advanced forms.

Try this 10-, 20-, or 30-minute yoga sequence to find deeper personal fulfillment in everyday life.

In part two of this three-part series on The Science of Breathing, learn how to take advantage of the power of the breath on the mat in various types of poses and with five different pranayama techniques.

The way you position your hands on the ground is important. Alexandria Crow breaks down what this commonly used cue misses about doing it safely and how you can do better.

Modify Parivrtta Utkatasana, Revolved Chair Pose, if needed to find safe alignment for your body.

Strengthen and ground your legs and hips, bring length and lightness to your spine and expand your chest in revolved chair pose.

According to Ayurvedic theory, it is better to drink warmer water after strenuous exercise. Drinking cold water on a hot day can disturb your digestion.

During class, our bodies will experience muscle shaking in response to hard work in a yoga pose. Be mindful of proper alignment and focus on the breath.

New Hampshire clocks in as the most emotionally healthy US state. It has people that face new experiences, share close moments with loved ones and engages in healthy activities.

Think you don't have time for yoga? Add this vinyasa right into your next workout, between sets of any exercise, to keep things interesting.

Master teacher Sianna Sherman created this short sunrise sequence integrating the physical and spiritual to take your practice to another level.

Turn to this pranayama practice in times of transformation to invoke Kali and free yourself from anything that's holding you back.

Try these three pre-and post-workout yoga practices from Sage Rountree’s new book to balance strength and fitness daily.

Recover from your workout with these six restorative poses from Sage Rountree’s new book that marry hip release and inversion to sweetly calm your nervous system.

Use this post-workout sequence from Sage Rountree’s new book to build core strength that balances the abs and back muscles.

Use these mat-free poses from Sage Rountree’s new book to wake up your whole body and mind for better performance.

Only have 10, 20 or 30 minutes? Try this at home practice to recharge during your busy day with yoga teacher Chelsea Jackson.

Try this floor-based Viniyoga Sun Salutation 
that takes weight-bearing out of the picture and pressure off your joints.

Try the Ashtanga sun salutation for a physically demanding practice that involves synchronizing the breath with near-constant movement in a series of postures.

This Kundalini Sun Salutation is tied to reverence and prayer and likely looks more like the Sun Salutation the rishis of old might have practiced.

Celebrate summer solstice with three 
innovative and inspiring Sun Salutation practices.

Seated meditative poses support you as you drink in and recharge, and Warrior Poses, inversions, and backbends help you find strength as you pour out offerings to the world.

This balancing, restorative sequence encourages you to “drink” as you “pour.” Seated meditative poses support you as you drink in and recharge.

Refresh on the basics with Upward Salute, a pose that teaches extension from the ground up, lengthens the side waist, strengthens arms and shoulders.

Spinning and outdoor cycling are high-octane cardio workouts that require powerful legs and knees, and a strong back and core. Use yoga to regain balance.

Want to strengthen your relationship? These four simple partner poses will help you get close and connected within minutes.

It's normal to freeze up right before a stressful event but eating chocolate can help with controlling stress hormones.

Here's how to protect yourself in backbending yoga poses to avoid pain and injury, but still reap the asana benefits.

Removing meat from your diet can improve your health but you must replenish what you eliminate. Vegetarians can takes a B12 supplement to support health.

You should protect your skin from the sun, but beware of harmful ingredients in sunscreen. Try mineral sunscreens to avoid toxins.

Use the following four poses to safely warm up and engage your core and hips for Side Plank.

Try these variation-mixes of Sun Salute A, B, and C to spice up your yoga practice.

Sianna Sherman introduces you to Durga and teaches you how to summon her strength in practice and in life.

Ever try a yoga pose and feel like your body just doesn’t make that shape? Erin Motz (a.k.a. the Bad Yogi) has three ideas to help you rock Fire Log Pose (Agnistambhasana).

Yoga teacher Alexandria Crow delves into what your teacher really wants you to do when you hear this cue—and it’s “not navel to spine.”

Release tension and pain by working with your tissue. Bo Forbes shows you how to target hotspots in the shoulders and lower back.

Prana Vinyasa founder Shiva Rea has an Earth Day eco-challenge for you: 10 body mudras and eco-actions to help you connect to the Earth.

Are you struggling with your lift off into Bakasana? Kathryn Budig uses a blanket to unlock the secret source of strength (hint: core) you need to soar.

Chad Dennis, yoga instructor to Maroon 5, created this soothing practice playlist to help bring you back to center anywhere.

Traveling? Take a cue from these experts at practicing in transit with 11 poses to center you anywhere.

Use these heart-opening poses to synchonize your yoga practice with the energy of the special pink full moon and lunar eclipse.

Take a cue from the White House's Yoga Garden at the annual Easter Egg Roll and strike a few yoga poses in the backyard with your family.

If you have MS, try these five yoga poses and variations to improve balance, walking and coordination, according to a new study.

Take the beloved bedtime story ritual a step further with Mariam Gates's sequence that will soothe little ones to sleep.

Your wrists bear weight in so many yoga poses—not to mention every time you do a vinyasa. These 8 poses can help you keep your wrists pain-free.

Sage Rountree teaches yoga to UNC Men’s Basketball team. Here, her top four poses for players, plus two for March-maddened coaches and fans.

Kathryn Budig talks snow and flow with the Olympian. Plus, three poses to make your time on the mountain even sweeter.

Yoga teacher Leslie Howard recommends this sequence for a strong and balanced backside.

Experts agree that routine stretching can both prevent and relieve lower back symptoms. Choose from a 10, 20, or 30 minute routine to release pain.

Yoga teacher Andrea Ferretti offers a short 10-minute sequence of yoga poses to help ease tension in your back and find better posture.

Yoga teacher Andrea Ferretti offers 20 minutes of yoga poses to help ease tension in your back and find better posture.

Yoga teacher Andrea Ferretti offers 30 minutes of yoga poses to help ease tension in your back and find better posture.