by dualFIT
Performed by DualFIT expert trainer Steve Pfiester
Tools: Yoga Mat
Follow Steve through this basic yoga workout for beginenrs. Repeat
the complete sequence 2-3 times, as well as hold each pose for more
breaths, for a more challenging yoga session.
- Standing Mountain Pose
- Forward Fold
- Lunge into Plank Position
- Chaturanga (push up)
- Upward Facing Dog
- Back into Plank Position
- Downward Dog
- Split Legs into Runner’s Pose
- Crescent Pose
- Warrior 1
- Warrior 2
- Back into Runner’s Pose
- Warrior 3
- Standing Mountain Pose
Repeat on the other leg
Transcript for the Video
Hi, this is Steve Pfiester with DualFit.com, and I want to introduce you to some basic practices of yoga for beginners. In our quest for getting in shape, a lot of us leave out flexibility. We leave out things like balance, or centering ourselves, or learning how to relax. This is an important discipline that I think all of us should include in our exercise routine, or our quest for getting in shape.
Now a lot of these basic practices are going to feel foreign to you. Don’t push yourself into postures that you’re not ready for. Do what you can. There’s no depth that’s necessarily correct. The depth that’s correct is where you feel comfortable. I’m going to take you through this about two or three breaths in each position, but please don’t force yourself into positions or any postures that you don’t feel comfortable in. Give them all a try, but if they feel uncomfortable I want you to back off.
All right, the first position we’re just going to be standing here with our arms open. I’m keeping my feet relatively apart. That’s okay because my next move I’m going to fold forward at the hips. But here, my shoulders are rolled back. Again, I take two or three deep breaths, as we will in all positions. I’m tall through the spine and I exhale. I’m trying to relax and yet I’m staying tight in all the right places, stomach, spine, tall, shoulders rolled back and down, hands are open. One more big breath, and here we go. We’re going to fold forward from the hips, keeping our back straight. How low you go depends on your back.
If your back is starting to bend here, then this is where you stop. If you can get down a little deeper with your back straight you’re welcome to follow me here. Some of you rock stars may want to go all the way down, and bend your legs slightly. But when your back starts to bow, I want you to stop. This is where I’m comfortable. As we go through this, you’ll be able to get lower and lower with less effort. Let’s come back up a little bit, and down hands flat, back into plank. Step back gently, three breathes in plank, my hands underneath my shoulders.
My bottom is slightly tight, my stomach is in, I’m not sagging, nor am I going into Downward Dog yet. Good tight plank. The next move is Chaturanga. It’s a little like a pushup, but the arms stay close and I just lower my chest. Perhaps you need to move to your knees to lower down properly. There’s no problem with that. Once we’re here we hover, three breathes. We want to focus on our feet, my feet get long. I’m going to push my body up and away. We call this Upward facing dog. Some of us might need to go to Cobra if that’s too much pressure drop your legs and relax on your knee caps, on your quads.
Don’t allow your shoulders to slouch, push the ground away. Let’s try to stay up in Upward facing dog, if we can. After three breathes, let’s go back into plank. Lifting the bottom tightening the stomach and the buttocks. Three breathes. Let’s go back in to downward facing dog, legs are slightly apart. Push your body backwards. [sit-bones] goes to the sky, heels are being dropped for a calf stretch, head is in-line with the arms. Now we can get a great calf stretch here by bending our leg and pressing down the heel of the opposite leg. And then we can reverse that the other way.
Straight Downward dog, head is down, let’s move into our first weight bearing posture. Leg is up, and bring it all the way through. Sometimes we call this runners pose. Back toe is up, foot is between the hands, and I’m going to move into the Crescent pose, so I’m going to get a little stretch in my hip flexor, but I come up. This is where you first realize that balance may be an issue. Arms are up. If you feel restriction, it’s okay to drop your arms a little bit. I’d like you to stay straight if you can. And you’re going to feel a little tightness in your hip flexor, three breathes.
Now the only difference between Crescent and Warrior I is I’m going to bring this foot out a little bit, back here. As I bring my foot out, I tend to open up towards you, towards the camera. I want to shift my hips back down. I want to stay straight, and up. That’s a little tougher, but now we’re going to move into Warrior II, after three breaths.
Now we can relieve some of those rotational muscles. Here we want to check our [inaudible 04:43]. Where’s this arm, is it up, is it down, is it sideways? I want to be in a straight line, and check, take a breath. Try not to be reaching forward if you can help it. By now you’re feeling a lot of burning in that front leg. But that’s okay, because we’re almost done. I want you to come back down into Runners pose, which means I lift that back leg. I’m going to drag this heel up, and I slowly roll up, and I’m in this position here.
We’re moving into Warrior III, so we go back into Runners pose, now my hands come up. I’m in a straight line, from my tippy hands to tippy toes, and I lean forward. We’re going to challenge your postural extensors, your buttocks, and your balance, and I stay extended.
This is Warrior III, this is not so good; if we need to come back here we can. But I prefer this. Three breathes. Back down the same way. Back to Mountain, big breaths, drop the shoulders.
Now we’re going to repeat everything on the other side. Let’s go back through that progression again. Three breaths in each position. Move into plank. Chaturanga. Upward facing dog, or Cobra. Up tall, shoulders away from the ears. Feet back over, tighten back into a a solid plank, into Downward dog. Stretch the calves. Lift the opposite leg this time and bring it through. Runners pose. Try to relax. It’s important to think about what’s going on, right here and right now. Arms up for Crescent. We’re going to turn away just for a second to drop that foot, but then we turn back.
Warrior II, where’s this arm at, is it straight? Back over. Drag that leg in and come up tall. Once you have your balance let’s move arms up. From the tips of your fingers all the way down to your toes we go forward keeping your back extended. Your buttocks tight. If you need to stop here you can. If you need to move your arms down here you can. We’re really trying to keep those extensors tight. Push ourselves into good balance. Come back down, roll those shoulders back and down. Lift the chin up tall and relax.
Great introduction, great movement, great flow. Concentrate on your breathing. Every time you do this yoga for beginners you might pick up something different I say. But if you enjoyed that, don’t be intimidated by yoga, get addicted to it. Put it in your routine. Take your physique to the next level. Alright guys, stay tuned here at DualFit.com, we’ve got it all.
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