When you are practicing yoga as a beginner, you might struggle with completing a pose that requires great flexibility. You do not need to feel frustrating, here are 10 yoga poses we recommend for yoga beginners. Those poses do not require you to have great flexibility. If you would like to challenge yourself and aim for some difficult poses, that’s awesome! We strongly recommend you invest in a cotton yoga strap.

A yoga strap is commonly used as an extended arm by most beginner and intermediate yogis. It assists with alignment, completing a pose, and stretching.

When you look for a yoga strap, know your height beforehand and the length of the yoga strap. If you are tall, a longer yoga strap fits you better. 

1. Side Stretch

Side stretch is a great practice for those who sit in front of the computer all day (office workers). It is also a fantastic warm-up before any yoga practice. This stretch focuses on stretching your arms, shoulders, and chest.

To do the side stretch, hold the yoga strap a little bit wider than your shoulders over your head. You should feel tension on your shoulders right now. Then, lean your upper body to one side. Try to feel the tension and take 10-12 breaths and don’t forget to stretch the opposite side.

*You could sit or stand while doing this stretch.*

2. Opening The Shoulders

This is one of the greatest ways to stretch before yoga practice. Many fitness lovers use this method to stretch their shoulders after workouts to reduce the sourness and tension. Instead of using a wooden stick, we use a yoga strap instead, which is much convenient and portable. 

First, hold your yoga strap firmly. It is much stronger if you could twist the strap and make two loops for your hands. Make sure you hold the strap wider than your shoulders. Then, start by bringing your arms forward, slowly stretch your arms over your head and to the back. Make sure you do this slowly and feel comfortable.

3. Seated Forward Bend

This pose mainly focuses on stretching your hamstring and the back. It will be challenging if you do not have great flexibility. A yoga strap could be your extended arm and help you bend forward as much as you can. 

Place the middle of the yoga strap on the ball of your foot. Hold on to the end of the strap and lean forward as far as you can until you feel the stretch on your hamstring and your back.

4. Cow Face Arms

For most people who have tight shoulders, it is difficult to clasp hands behind the back. A yoga strap could help you improve your flexibility and clasp hands eventually. 

It is very simple. All you need to do is hold on to the middle of the strap, you could start with a wider grip and slowly shorten the grip as you stretch more.

5. One-Legged King Pigeon

This pose is a full-body stretch. Not only it could open your chest, shoulders, and legs, but also your back.

Cross your right leg (Right Leg) and place it under your body, Place the other leg (Left leg) on the back. Use a yoga strap and loop it on your left foot. Pull the yoga strap until you reach the furthest you can stretch.

We hope you could learn how to use the yoga strap after reading this article. Yoga is truly a wonderful practice for relaxation and self-consciousness.