Whether or not you need to slowly awaken your physique within the morning or get pleasure from deep juicy stretches after a strenuous exercise, seated yoga poses are implausible.
This yoga asana class includes ahead folds, twists, hip openers, hamstring stretches, and extra, supplying you with a full physique stretch-out with out even standing up!
However whilst you might assume that the majority seated poses are simple, this isn’t the case in any respect. Positive, there are lots of beginner-friendly seated poses that lightly stretch and loosen up the physique, however there are additionally some extremely difficult ones (trace: splits pose!)
Don’t consider me? Learn on to find a broad number of seated yoga poses, starting from newbie to superior.
When Ought to You Follow Seated Yoga Postures?
Relying on the particular posture, seated poses could be included within the warm-up part of your yoga observe or after the standing poses.
For instance, light seated yoga poses like certain angle and hero pose may also help to loosen up and open the physique forward of the standing yoga poses. In the meantime, deep hip openers and ahead folds could be beautiful to chill down and stretch the muscular tissues towards the top of the observe.
When selecting the place to put seated poses in your sequence, contemplate the asana’s issue stage. Intermediate and superior seated postures needs to be practiced within the second half of the session when the physique is already heat to keep away from damage.
Newbie Seated Yoga Poses
New to yoga? No worries! Listed here are eight beginner-level seated poses that may gently stretch and open your physique.
Straightforward Pose (Sukhasana)
Straightforward pose is an ordinary cross-legged place that many yoga courses start in. In contrast to the lotus pose, the simple pose is accessible for most individuals because it includes merely crossing your shins and sitting with a straight backbone.
Whereas the leg place itself creates a delicate hip opening, there are lots of variations you are able to do that add further advantages, comparable to:
- Light twist – Carry one hand behind you and the opposite hand to the alternative knee as you twist from the torso sustaining a straight backbone.
- Light ahead fold – Retaining your sitting bones on the bottom, stroll your fingertips ahead on to decrease your torso to your legs.
- Aspect bend – Place one hand on the ground and attain the alternative arm up and over to the facet to stretch the facet physique.
- Reverse prayer – Carry each arms behind your again, bending the elbows and touching the palms.
- Chest opener – Clasp your arms behind you and lengthen your arms. Inhale to open the chest, then exhale to fold ahead, bringing your clasped arms up and over.
Sure Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana)
Sure angle, also called butterfly or cobbler’s pose, stretches the interior hip flexors and groin whereas soothing stress within the decrease again.
To do that place, bend each knees out to the facet, bringing the soles of your ft collectively. You are able to do a number of variations right here, comparable to remaining upright, bouncing the knees up and down, or folding forwards.
Furthermore, the space between your ft and your physique will decide your sensation stage. For instance, you possibly can deliver the ft additional away from you to create a diamond form together with your legs in order for you a delicate stretch. Or you possibly can pull the ft near your groin for a deeper hip opening.
Workers Pose (Dandasana)
Workers pose is one other newbie seated place the place each legs are straight, and the ft are along with the toes pointing up. Dandasana improves your posture, lengthens the backbone and hamstrings, and strengthens the again muscular tissues.
Whereas this posture might look easy, there’s a lot muscle engagement. To keep up the place, flex your ft and have interaction your thigh muscular tissues, urgent them right down to the mat. You also needs to have interaction your arms by preserving them straight and urgent the palms barely into the ground whereas drawing the shoulders away from the ears.
Thunderbolt pose (Vajrasana)
The thunderbolt pose includes sitting in your heels together with your knees in deep flexion. This posture stretches the quads whereas strengthening varied physique components, together with the ankles, knees, again, chest, and core.
Thunderbolt can also be a well-liked place for seated meditation or performing respiration methods. As well as, it has many therapeutic advantages, together with aiding digestion, constipation, and hypertension.
Head To Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana)
This seated yoga posture combines a ahead bend and a hip opener. It stretches varied physique components, together with the backbone, hamstrings, groins, and shoulders. It additionally stimulates particular organs such because the liver and spleen and has a relaxing sensation on the thoughts.
From a seated place with each legs prolonged straight, bend your proper knee, turning the knee out to the facet and putting the foot to the interior left thigh. Subsequent, sit up, inhale, and fold forwards over the prolonged leg.
As you maintain this pose, give attention to pulling your chest ahead in direction of your foot. You may flex the left foot to maintain the leg straight and deepen the hamstring stretch. In the event you can attain the foot together with your fingers, you can too gently pull your self additional towards the left leg.
Seated Spinal Twist (Half Lord Of The Fishes Pose)
This seated spinal twist could be very therapeutic for the digestive system. The tight twisting place “wrings” out the belly organs, serving to to launch toxins and stimulate digestion whereas firming the core. The spinal twist additionally improves spinal mobility and eases low again ache.
Begin with each legs straight, then bend your left knee, putting the foot outdoors your proper thigh. Subsequent, bend your proper knee, shifting the foot in direction of your left hip (preserving the knee on the bottom). If this place isn’t accessible or creates ache, maintain the underside leg straight.
Sustaining this leg place, deliver your left hand behind you with the fingertips on the bottom and the wrist supporting your decrease again. Attain your proper arm up as you inhale, then twist your backbone to the left as you exhale. Subsequent, bend the proper elbow, hooking it to the surface of the left knee. Take 5 breaths right here, going deeper into the twist on every exhale.
Seated Ahead Bend (Paschimottanasana)
Paschimottanasana is a seated ahead fold the place the legs are collectively. This place offers a deep stretch to your entire again, bettering spinal mobility and suppleness. It additionally stretches the hamstrings and calf muscular tissues and calms the thoughts.
Begin in Dandasana together with your backbone straight. In your inhale, attain each arms up, creating extra size within the backbone. As you exhale, preserve this size as you tilt out of your hips and decrease your torso to your thighs.
Hold your backbone straight as you come down by preserving your arms alongside your ears. While you attain your most, launch your arms to your calves, ankles, or ft, or maintain onto a strap hooked across the soles of your ft.
Seated Huge-Legged Straddle (Upavistha Konasana)
Seated wide-legged straddle is a wide-leg model of Paschimottanasana. It stretches the hamstrings, hip flexors, groin, and decrease again whereas bettering the exterior rotation of the hips. It additionally stimulates the belly organs and improves circulation within the pelvis.
From Dandasana, deliver your legs as huge as feels comfy. With a straight backbone, inhale to succeed in your arms overhead, then exhale to fold ahead. Within the ahead bend, you possibly can relaxation your arms on the mat between your legs, seize the outsides of the ft, or hook your peace fingers round your massive toes.
Intermediate Seated Yoga Poses
As soon as you are feeling comfy with the newbie seated poses, strive these barely tricker ones.
Cow Face Pose (Gomukhasana)
The cow face pose improves flexibility within the shoulders and hips by opening the chest and stretching the triceps, outer hip flexors, and glutes. Additionally it is a superb pose for counteracting the results of lengthy intervals of sitting and bettering posture.
Bend your left knee, stacking it over the proper knee and bringing the foot in direction of the proper hip. Then bend the proper knee beneath, bringing the foot in direction of the left hip. The knee ought to stay stacked although there could also be a niche between them.
For the arm positioning, deliver your left arm behind you, bending the elbow and bringing the fingertips in direction of the higher again. Then attain your proper arm as much as the sky, bend the elbow, and hook the fingers. Lastly, level the highest elbow upwards and open the chest as you breathe deeply into any stress.
Hero Pose (Virasana)
Hero pose is a deeper and, thus, more difficult model of the Thunderbolt pose. As an alternative of sitting on the heels, you progress your ft to the surface of your hips and place your sitting bones straight on the bottom. This ends in deeper knee flexion, and thus, it’s extremely strengthening for these joints and the thighs, ankles, and arches of the ft.
Begin in Thunderbolt pose with the knees bent, then slide your ft out to the facet of your hips. When you’ve got tightness within the thighs or knee that forestalls you from connecting your sit bones to the bottom, sit on a folded blanket.
Boat Pose (Navasana)
Navasana strengthens the thighs, again, and core muscular tissues whereas bettering steadiness, stability, and digestion. The ultimate place includes the legs prolonged straight and the arms floating alongside the thighs, engaged. A extra beginner-friendly variation is to maintain the knees bent with the shins parallel to the bottom.
Fireplace Log Pose (Agnistambhasana)
The hearth log is a seated pose the place the shins are stacked, creating the looks of fireplace logs. This asana offers a deep stretch to the glutes and outer hips. It improves flexibility within the decrease physique and strengthens the legs and knees.
Ranging from the simple pose, deliver your proper shin barely forwards till it’s parallel to the highest of the mat. Subsequent, stack your left shin on prime, putting the heel over the proper knee and the knee over the proper foot. If there’s a giant hole between the highest knee and backside foot, put a pillow or block in between for assist.
Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)
The pigeon pose is one other seated asana for the outer hips and glutes. It’s significantly useful for anybody with tight hips or decrease again ache because it helps to loosen up the muscular tissues in these areas and launch stagnating vitality.
Carry your left knee ahead from a tabletop place, putting it behind the left wrist. Shift the left foot in direction of the proper facet as you sink your hips down. Stroll your arms near your physique, straighten your backbone, and breathe deeply.
If you wish to take this place additional, there are a number of variations you possibly can strive:
- Sleeping Pigeon – Stroll your arms ahead and launch your higher physique down, resting your brow on the bottom or a prop.
- Mermaid – Staying upright, bend your proper knee and attain behind together with your proper arm to seize the foot. Slide the foot to your elbow, then deliver your left arm up, turning the elbow and clasping your proper fingers. Press the chest ahead for a deep higher physique opening.
- King Pigeon – Bend the again knee like you might be coming into Mermaid, then hook a yoga strap excessive of the foot. Attain each arms up, bending the elbows and grabbing the belt. Arch the backbone and press the chest forwards.
Heron Pose (Krounchasana)
This intermediate yoga pose offers an intense hamstring stretch, opens the hips, and improves spinal flexibility. It additionally stimulates the center and belly organs and strengthens the ft, knees, and ankles.
From Dandasana, bend your left knee, bringing the foot subsequent to your left sitting bone (like in a half Hero pose). Then bend your proper knee, bringing the only real of the foot on the ground in entrance of you.
Seize your proper foot with each arms and slowly lengthen and elevate the leg, bringing the foot increased than the top. You might need to lean again barely as you do that however maintain your backbone straight and chest lifted.
Superior Seated Yoga Poses
Mastered the entire above? Then give these difficult advanced-level seated yoga poses a go for those who really feel courageous sufficient. Simply remember to totally heat up the physique earlier than trying them.
Lotus Pose (Padmasana)
Lotus pose could also be depicted as the usual meditation posture, however it is rather difficult for many individuals because it requires excessive hip flexibility. Practising this posture additional improves flexibility, promotes good posture, calms the thoughts, and stretches the ankles and knees.
From a straightforward pose, elevate the left foot and slowly transfer it in direction of the proper thigh, putting it near the groin with the only real going through up. This is named half lotus pose.
To do the ultimate model, launch the proper leg, seize the foot, and cross the shins to put the proper foot on the left thigh. Within the closing place, each soles ought to face upwards, and the heels needs to be shut to one another. Whether it is too painful, launch the proper leg and place it again underneath the left in half lotus.
Tortoise Pose (Kurmasana)
Tortoise Pose requires open hips and requires flexibility within the backbone and shoulders, making it some of the difficult seated yoga poses. Nonetheless, it has many advantages, together with firming the belly organs, lowering low again stress and sciatica ache, and bettering blood circulation.
From a straddle place with the legs huge and the backbone straight, bend your knees barely as you stroll your arms ahead between the legs. As you decrease your higher physique between your legs, slide your arms underneath the knees with the palms going through down. The total expression is to flatten the arms and torso to the bottom with the legs prolonged.
Full Splits (Hanumanasana)
Hanumanasana, generally referred to as full splits, is one other difficult seated pose for a lot of because it requires considerably open hips and thighs. Nonetheless, it has many advantages, together with firming the legs, soothing menstrual cramps, and balancing the nervous system.
From a tabletop place, step the left foot between your arms. Subsequent, stroll the foot ahead as you sink your hips and slide your proper leg again, bringing the ft additional away from one another. You may then flex the left foot to slip the heel alongside the ground, bringing the hips as near the bottom as doable.
If the sitting bones stay hovering above the ground, assist your self by putting a block underneath them.
Compass Pose (Parivrtta Surya Yantrasana)
The compass pose is a extra superior model of the Heron pose, giving an equally intense stretch to the hamstring because the splits pose. As well as, it stretches the shoulders, chest, and hips, strengthens the core, improves steadiness, and will increase spinal flexibility.
From a straightforward pose, bend your left knee, hugging it to the chest. You may maintain the proper leg bent or lengthen it. Thread your left arm underneath your left leg, bringing the fingertips to the ground outdoors your left hip.
Lengthen your backbone, then use your proper hand to slip the interior left knee up your left arm. Then, holding the surface of the foot, slowly lengthen the left leg as you pull your proper shoulder again to open the chest.
Ideas For Practising Seated Poses
As you possibly can see, not all seated poses are a stroll within the park. However a few issues will considerably enable you to discover the proper alignment and full expression of every one.
Sit On A Block
Many individuals with tight hips battle to perk up attributable to stress within the lumbar backbone. This results in leaning again or hunching forwards, that are incorrect postures.
The only but simplest adjustment you can also make if scuffling with seated asanas is to put a yoga block underneath your sit bones. Elevating your hips will ease the stress in your decrease again, permitting you to search out and preserve a straighter backbone.
Sitting on a block will even assist in any cross-legged place in case you have delicate knees or lack mobility on this joint. Transferring the hips increased will deliver your knees nearer to the bottom with out the chance of damage.
Even for those who don’t have tight hips or knee points, you should still discover it useful to sit down on a small meditation cushion or folded blanket throughout seated asanas, particularly for those who maintain them for a very long time.
Transfer With Your Breath
The second key to mastering seated postures is to maneuver together with your breath. For instance, use your inhale to search out size in your backbone, then transfer on the exhale, whether or not it’s folding ahead or twisting.
As well as, your breath will enable you to transfer via stress when holding superior poses just like the splits or compass pose. Breathe slowly and deeply via the nostril, directing the prana to the place you are feeling essentially the most stress. By specializing in this space for a number of breaths, you may really feel the muscular tissues chill out and open up extra, permitting you to go deeper.
Ultimate Ideas On Seated Yoga Postures
Attempt a few of these seated yoga poses if you wish to work in your flexibility, enhance your posture, or unwind after a worrying day. You may add them to your normal yoga observe or create a complete seated sequence for these days you possibly can’t face one other solar salutation or warrior 2!
